
Class 



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Book, vl^3S45 
Copyright]^^ . 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT, 



SERMONS 



Stations of the Cross 

The Our Father, The Hail Mary, Etc. 

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THE EARLY CATHOLIC 
MISSIONARIES OF THE UNITED STATES 

By the Author 

Rev. B> j/Raycroft, A. M. 



t^ 




FR. PUSTET 
Printer to the Holy See and the Sacred Congregation of Rites. 



FE. PUSTET & CO. 

NEW YORK & CINCINNATI. 



THE LJRRARY OfI 

OCNGR£.«^S, 
Two Coptsa ITeceivc*! 

APR. !4 1902 

CLASS /^XXa MoJ 
t COFr 9. 






•Wtbtl ©betat. 

REV. P. REMIGIUS, 0. S. B., 

Censor Libronon Deputatus. 



•ffrnprimatur. 

ifi RT. REV 



JOHN E. FITZMAURICE, 

Bishop of Erie. 



CopY^yG^Tflf)^;. :i)y ^VX. t. J. flji^tJllOFT. 



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(X) 



PREFACE. 

In dedicating this volume of sermons to the memory 
of those heroic missionaries who erected the standard 
of Catholic Faith in the wilderness of this country, 
the Author only intimates the admiration which, from 
boyhood, he has entertained for those great Christian 
heroes. When, years ago, he read for the first time 
Bancroft's eloquent tribute to those saintly pioneers of 
Christianity, he was pleased with the noble eulogy 
inscribed by this Protestant historian ; and marveled 
at the fidelity, perseverance, and sacrifice of those 
illustrious torch-bearers of divine faith. Face to face 
with the present methods of " benevolent assimilation " 
and rapid-fire-gun civilization, he now admires more 
and understands better the sacrifices and achievements 
of those true teachers of Christ. If it be thought pre- 
sumptuous of him to offer his second volume of sermons 
as a memento of their exalted virtues, untold privations, 
and inestimable merit, he pleads in extentuation of his 
temerity,. that he should not be too much blamed if 
some of the enthusiasm of boyhood for those renowned 
soldiers of the cross still remains and impels him to 
entwine this little for-get-me-not around their sacred 
memories. 

In his first volume of sermons the Author said : " As 
to the merits and faults of these sermons, the reader is 
the judge." Here he does not hesitate to repeat the 
same thought, though a St. Louis critic was severe in his 
treatment of the preface to the first volume ; and, if 



PEEFACE. 

the readers of this volume can speak as kindly of it as 
they did of the first, the Author will consider himself 
well rewarded for his labor. 

These sermons were written, as the others were, after 
delivery. Some may differ with the Author as regards 
this method ; but even those who differ, may agree with 
him, that it is prudent for anyone to do his work in the 
way best adapted to himself, though this way may not 
be profitable or suitable to another. He may also re- 
mark, as he did in the first volume, that he wrote these 
sermons for pastime and self-improvement ; but it 
should not be inferred from this that he had no other 
purpose in view. He had time which, if not employed, 
would have dragged heavily upon him. Moreover, he 
is not so unmindful of the distinguished merits of others, 
to imagine he is beyond the sphere of self-improve- 
ment. Indeed, if there is anything of worth in these 
sermons, he owes it largely to others ; — not that he has 
borrowed much, nor has he plagiarized ; but the erudite 
example set by some American priests has stimulus 
enough to induce other Americans to learn and to im- 
prove. 

With these few observations, the Author sends forth 
this volume on its unknown journey. He hopes it will 
make friends, meet with some success, and do much 
good. If it lighten the burden of some poor mortal, or 
convert the gloomy forebodings of despair into faith, 
hope, and charity, he shall rejoice that he has done 
something to alleviate the " Miseries of Man." 



INDEX. 

PAGES. 

First Station : 

Jesus is Condemned to Death 5 

Second Station : 

Jesus Carries His Cross 12 

Third Station : 

Jesus Falls the First Time under the Weight of 

the Cross 18 

Fourth Station : 

Jesus Meets His Afflicted Mother 24 

Fifth Station : 

Simon, the Cyrenian, Helps Jesus to Carry His 

Cross 31 

Sixth Station : 

Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus 38 

Seventh Station : 

Jesus Falls the Second Time under the Cross. ... 45 
Eighth Station : 

Jesus Speaks to the .Women of Jerusalem , , 54 

Ninth Station : 

Jesus Falls the Third Time under the Cross 62 

Tenth Station : 

Jesus is Stripped of His Garments 70 

Eleventh Station : 

Jesus is Nailed to the Cross 78 

Twelfth Station : 

Jesus Dies on the Cross , 86 

Thirteenth Station : 

Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross 96 



INDEX. 

Fourteenth Station : 

Jesus is Laid in the Sepulchre 105 

The Lord's Prayer.— First Sermon : 

" Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be 

Thy Name" • in 

Second Sermon : 

"Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth 

as it is in Heaven .'^ 118 

Third Sermon : 

" Give us this day our daily bread. '^ 124 

Fourth Sermon : 

" Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those 

who trespass against us.'' 131 

Fifth Sermon : 

'' Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from 

evil." 138 

Sermons on the Blessed Virgin. — First Sermon : 

" Hail, Mary, full of grace." 145 

Second Sermon : 

'* Holy Mary, Mother of God," etc 154 

Third Sermon : 

Rosary Sunday 164 

Fourth Sermon : 

*' Render, therefore, honor to whom honor is 

due." _ , . . 1 70 

Fifth Sermon : 

" Comforter of the afflicted, pray for us." 181 

Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus : 

On the Efficacy of the Holy Name of Jesus. . . , 192 
Second Sunday after Epiphany : 

On the Destructiveness of Divorce 201 

Second Sermon : 

On Scandalous Matrimonial Alliances 211 

Third Sermon : 

On the Perniciousness of Conceit 218 



INDEX. 

Septuagesima Sunday : 

The Christian's Crown 228 

Sexagesima Sunday : 

The Need of the Word of God 237 

Easter Sunday : 

God's Love for Mankind 246 

Sixth Sunday after Easter : 

The Testimony of Catholics for Jesus 256 

Pentecost Sunday : 

The Observance and Abuse of the Word of God . 264 
Second Sunday after Pentecost : 

The Folly of Worldly Desires 275 

Third Sunday after Pentecost : 

On Repentance 284 

Second Sermon : 

On Gambling 293 

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost : 

On Anger 302 

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost : 

Man a Temple of the Holy Ghost 309 

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost : 

On Catholic Education 317 

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost : 

The Healing Influence of the Sacrifice of the 
Mass 331 



FIRST STATION. 



Jesus is Co7idemned to Death. 

My Dear Brethren : We cannot do anything better, in 
the way of meditation, during the holy season of Lent 
than consider the many pious suggestions brought to 
our minds by the Stations of the Cross. These stations 
picture the most affecting scenes on that painful jour- 
ney which Jesus made from the judgment hall to the 
sepulchre. Many persons read and study the travels 
made by distinguished explorers ; much time is a Iso 
devoted to perusing the books of ordinary travel. 
Thoughts are analyzed, observations are weighed, 
even trifles are well considered ; but what are all these 
human interests compared to the Christian interest and 
devotion which should characterize the study of that 
sacred journey to Calvary ? This journey bespeaks the 
love which the Son of God possessed for the human race. 
It tells, morever, of the self-sacrifice, of the suffering, 
of the beneficence of the Redeemer for poor, frail man. 
It is at once the most mournful and most notable 
event in human history, — Jesus, the Son of God, dying 
for the sins of mankind. You have read of deeds of 
heroism begotten by love and fidelity ; but where is the 
heroism, where the love, where the fidelity like unto 
this of the Saviour of the world ! He leaves His abode 
of splendor where sorrow and suffering never enter, 

5 



6 FIKST STATION. 

assumes human nature, condemns Himself to poverty, 
insult, and torture, that sin may have a sufficient atone- 
ment. He suffers and dies that the human race may 
live and rejoice. 

The first station represents Him condemned to die the 
cruel death of the Cross. Pontius Pilate, the Roman 
Governor of Jerusalem, is His judge. The creature 
sentences his Saviour and his God to die an infamous 
death ! But how came Jesus in his power ? What 
treachery placed Him in the hands of His enemies ? 
Be astonished, O inhabitants of heaven ! Be aston- 
ished, O inmates of hell ! for the traitor was none 
other than a friend — a friend who had enjoyed the 
exalted privilege of his Mastery's presence, who ate at 
the same table with Him, who partook of His Divine 
Master in the august Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist ; 
but who valued thirty pieces of silver more than he did 
his God ! Our beneficent Redeemer spared for Himself 
no ignominy, protected Himself from no treason, 
allowed Himself to be assaulted by every debasement 
that He may better prove to us His love ! Observe how, 
meekly He received Judas, the traitor. No reprimand, 
no look of anger, no expression of contempt ; no, not 
any of these, but the gentlest word, friend — '^friend, is 
it with a kiss thou betray est the Son of Man ? " 

Here the agony of His passion increases. Jesus is 
bound and dragged to prison. He was scourged and 
crowned with thorns, mocked and buffeted. Pilate be- 
lieved he could save His life. He reflected. Now a 
thought of success crossed his mind. He would bring 
forth acriminal — a vicious, wicked man. He would ask 
the Jews to take their choice ; surely they would take 
Barrabas, and Jesus would be saved. O rage and hatred ! 
why do you combine so madly? why do you call out : 



FIRST STATION. 7 

" Release Barrabas ! Give its Jesus to crucify " ? Inno- 
cence was weighed against guilt and guilt was declared 
more worthy of pardon. " Crucify Him ! Gucify Him ! " 
cried out the Jews in their madness. But what was 
the crime which thus maddened the Jews ? The crime 
of doing good. The leaders of the Jews hated Him 
because He taught a new doctrine. The people loved 
Him for this doctrine and His benevolence toward them. 
Pilate declared He was innocent and attempted to free 
himself of the crime of abusing justice. '^ / am hmo- 
ceiit, " he said, " of the blood of this just man.''* 

How many an innocent person has suffered since that 
declaration of Pontius Pilate ! Justice has been bought 
and sold ; and the rights o^ human creatures trampled 
upon by tyranny, intrigue, and gold. How well should 
the jurist dwell upon this great trial which took place in 
the presence of the Roman governor. How unfaltering 
and inflexible should be his will in protecting innocence 
and administering justice. He should engrave upon 
his reason and judgment the lesson taught by this 
awful travesty upon justice in the judicial hall of 
Pontius Pilate. Jesus, Who stood there, condemned to 
die, will remember the unjust decisions of many a 
court of law, and will punish with inexorable chastise- 
ment the unworthy, polluted judge who permits or in- 
stigates the condemnation of innocent persons. Well 
may every judge learn his judicial duty from this trial. 
If he is incorruptible, he should rejoice ; and in the 
meanwhile pray that Jesus, the Innocent Victim, may 
give him strength to wear his ermine spotless. If he 
is corruptible and corrupting, he is a disgrace to the 
bench ; and if human retribution fail to visit him, an 
angry God will demand satisfaction. This same trial 
gives encouragement to innocence condemned to suffer 



8 FIRST STATION. 

for crimes of which It is not guilty. These innocent 
persons turn to God, their Saviour, and beg for solace 
and sustenance. How many a suffering mortal has 
drawn inspiration and succor from the life and death of 
Christ ! 

Mark again how Divine Wisdom prepared the Apos- 
tles for the overawing scenes transpiring from the 
Garden of Gethsemane to the sepulchre. Jesus foresaw 
His degradation ; He knew the Apostles were human ; 
He therefore fortified them, that they may be strong 
in faith when he would be apparently overcome by 
disgrace. In their presence water was changed into 
wine. They beheld Him Teed thousands with a few 
small loaves and a few fishes. They saw the lame walk ; 
they heard the dumb speak. In bewilderment they 
gazed upon the Transfiguration, where Jesus, enveloped 
with the splendor of heaven, shone as the sun. At the 
Last Supper they received Jesus in the Sacrament of 
the Holy Eucharist, so that their faith may not fail on 
the morrow. Even all these manifestations of divine 
power were not sufficient to confirm them in their alle- 
giance to their Eternal Master ; for behold the infirm, 
inconstant, frail nature of the Apostles during the dole- 
ful events of Holy Thursday night and Good Friday ! 
Judas valued thirty pieces of silver more than he did his 
Lord and Master ; Peter denied Him. All His friends, 
except a few, vanished before danger. Alone, He is 
condemned to die. No voice is raised in His defense. 
The phials of divine wrath are emptied upon the bleed- 
ing head and mangled form of Jesus. The sins of the 
world are upon Him, still no person interferes In His 
behalf — not even His Eternal Father. He Is prepared 
to die for the human race. He Is to be unrivaled in His 
mercy and love for mankind. No comparison can ever 



FIRST STATION. U 

be Instituted between His sacrifice for man and that of 
any human benefactor. Jesus stands pre-eminent ! 
He exhausts all the manifestations of friendship and 
surpasses everyone else who has any claims upon the 
gratitude of man ! 

We may now inquire who signed that death warrant 
Was it Pontius Pilate and he only ? Alas ! no ; Adam 
and Eve signed that warrant ; and every human creature 
who ever lived or will live, except the Blessed Virgin 
signed that death warrant. It was signed first in the 
beautiful Garden of Paradise, and human mortals will 
continue adding signatures to it until the great Arch- 
angel summons the human race to appear before the 
Innocent Victim of its signatures. Will our cruelty be 
blotted out before that tremendous day? Will our 
merciful Redeemer look benignly upon us and say : 
' Friend, thou hast often betrayed Me with a kiss, but 
there was no malice in your betrayal. You were weak ; 
you offended ; but you mourned your offences. I forgot 
in the Sacrament of Penance your transgressions ? " 

Now, my Christian friends, if we desire to enjoy our 
Saviour's friendship on that day of judgment, we ought 
now to appreciate His mercy by meditating piously 
upon His incomparable agony. How can we best mani. 
fest our gratitude for His loving mercy ? By express- 
ing our sorrow for our sins and by resolving to avoid 
them in the future. During this holy season make 
amends for your cruelty toward Jesus. Let him who 
is accustomed to use that sacred name in profanity, 
protest against his past ingratitude. How can a Catho- 
lic have the insolence to abuse his Saviour and his God ? 
It is horrible to think of the apparent malice of some 
Catholics who persist in their heinous insults toward 
Jesus. When meditating upon His passion, you become 



10 FIRST STATION. 

afflicted by the savagery of the Jews ; but what about 
those Catholics who, without any qualm of conscience, 
will offend Jesus many times in a day by this insolent 
base, ignorant habit of swearing ! They are worse than 
the Jews ; for the Jews knew not that Jesus was the Son 
of the Most High. Probably a few leaders, judging 
from prophecies, had some notion of His divinity ; still 
the majority were Ignorant. They believed Him an 
intruder who was destroying their ancient customs and 
doctrines. They had clung to this ancient faith through 
every calamity ; now they could not endure the Innova- 
tor. Had they been convinced that Jesus was the 
.Messiah for Whom they had longed and prayed, they 
would not have crucified Him. With ecstasy they 
would have knelt In adoration before Him, the object of 
so many heartfelt desires ; they would have cherished 
Him with their love ; they would have honored Him 
with their treasures ; and their hearts would have 
incessantly breathed forth their rejoicement in prayer 
and psalms. But a Catholic believing that Jesus is the 
Messiah, the Son of God, and his own Redeemer, ceases 
not from morning until night to cry out in a blasphe- 
mous manner against his Saviour. Nay, more ; there is 
a certain well-defined swagger in his profanity. He 
prides himself on his aptness to insult his Redeemer, 
though he has been nourished by the body and the 
blood, the soul and the divinity of that same Redeemer. 
Cruelty of cruelties ! Mad, insane cruelty toward your 
Saviour ! " Crucify Him ! Crucify Him ! " you cry out 
in your madness, and there is a boastfulness in your 
cry which is disgusting. Such Catholics are more 
venemous and malicious than the Jews. They are 
vile, stupid, detestable ingrates ! 

Break up this degrading habit during this season of 



FIRST STATION. 11 

Lent. Show your Redeemer that you are in earnest. 
Beg Him to pardon you for the treason with which you 
so often have assaulted' Him. You can do this if you 
are resolved to strive ; and if you succeed, you will 
never regret your efforts. This Lent will then indeed 
open for you the channels of God's mercy. His sacred 
blood will flow from His bleeding heart upon you in the 
Sacrament of Penance. Your insults will be forgiven, 
and Easter Sunday morning will dawn upon you pure 
of heart and innocent of soul. 



SECOND STATION. 



yestis is Carrying His Cross. 

My Dear Brethren : From this station we learn that 
Jesus has set forth on His painful journey to Calvary. 
The sentence is pronounced. The cross is constructed. 
He accepts upon His mangled and bleeding shoulders 
the instrument of His death and of our redemption. 
He carries this heavy burden through the streets of 
Jerusalem — Jerusalem once so favored by His Eternal 
Father — Jerusalem once so devoted to Almighty God — 
Jerusalem formerly the glory of the Jewish people and 
an object of the Psalmist's praise ! This Jerusalem is 
now the first scene in the awful tragedy which takes 
place on Good Friday. Without a murmur, humbly and 
patiently, He takes His cross. He does not rise in 
His majesty and slay His persecutors. He evinces no 
manifestations of His power to overawe the Jews or 
demand their submission. He is transfigured ; yet His 
transfiguration partakes not of the splendor of Mount 
Tabor, but of the agony of the crown of thorns and the 
brutality of the scourges. No ; meekly He bears every 
insult and provocation. The rabble howls, but He is 
silent. What a sublime lesson He teaches mankind 
by His meekness ! Carrying His cross, He is even 
more instructive than in His beautiful sermon on the 
Mount. 

12 



SECOND STATION. IB 

These thoughts suggest that we, too, have crosses. 
Every human being has some cross or another to carry. 
By not learning from Jesus, many increase the weight 
of their crosses. Some even make them of thorns to 
pierce their wounded hearts. .Still, whatever its quality 
is, every one has a cross. These crosses can merit a 
heavenly reward or they may be only a curse. All 
depends on their nature and the manner in which they 
are borne. Crosses are often made out of sins, and 
those are the heaviest and most galling of all; for they 
bring no compensation, nor is the grave burden alle- 
viated by strength from heaven. In carrying his cross, 
every one should look to Jesus for encouragement and 
sustenance. He knows best how to sympathize, who 
suffers keenly. Besides, the memorable example which 
Jesus gives in the carrying of His own Cross, will 
assist every other cross-bearer if he only learn from the 
passion of Jesus. Let us consider a few of the crosses 
which gall the shoulders of frail human nature. 

You no doubt have seen a youth in the morning of 
his days. The smiles of health and innocence were 
upon His cheek. Every feature indicated the tran- 
quillity of his soul and pointed to a glorious future. His 
heart was attuned to the finest emotions ; his intellect was 
gifted with rare ability. Body and soul were moulded, 
as it were, under the superintendency of some angelic 
genius. But temptation lured him from his guardian 
angel only to impose upon him a thorny cross. He 
courted mistermed pleasure ; he must have it. He must 
burden himself with the cross of sin, though every 
friend pleads with him against such rashness. Allure- 
ments, blandishments entice him onward, onward, on- 
ward ! His cross grows heavier and heavier and heavier, 
as he advances. Would that he were not so false to 



14 SECOlto STATlOl?. 

himself ! Would that he had the prudence to cast one 
mental glance upon Jesus leaving Pilate's judgment 
hall! It may be the means of his conversion. No; on 
he goes. He or she, as the case may be, carries a morti- 
fying cross to the calvary of remorse. Well might 
angels weep over the sorrows of such ruin ! No reward, 
no heavenly joy after so much wretched anguish ! 

Here is another with his cross. Where did he get 
his ? Affliction herself weeps while answering the 
question : Where did he get it ? Alas ! it was placed 
upon his shoulders in the cradle ! By whom ? Who 
would be so malignant ? His own parents ? ** No ! " 
the father answers, ** no ; I would die before I would be 
guilty of such a horrible crime ! " " No ! " the mother 
exclaims in tears, " the last drop of my heart's blood 
would be gladly exhausted in protecting my babe ! " 
Ah ! nevertheless these fond parents have put a chafing 
cross upon their infant's shoulders. It has inherited 
passions and defects from them which make a deplor- 
able cross — a cross whose tribulations will often pierce 
the heart and distract the soul ! The infant inherits the 
craving for intoxicating drink — a cross, a legacy — and 
the only legacy of a dissipated father I Or it may be 
a passion for gambling or other defects arising from 
excesses. The helpless babe is thus on the threshold 
of life burdened with a lamentable cross, and this by 
the very parents who seem to love it so much. 

Still, the infant grows, and with years acquires physi- 
cal strength. There is a long struggle — a war ! It lasts 
probably as long as its temporal life. But the child 
gains new power in every attack. He looks to Jesus for 
help. He meditates upon the Stations of the Cross, and 
from these meditations he obtains spiritual allies. He 
rises above his birth. He triumphs over the constitu- 



SECOND STATION. I 5 

tional defects imparted by his parents. Nay, more ; 
these defects become germs of virtue which are fertil- 
ized by the benedictions of heaven. He carries his 
cross prayerfully, patiently, manfully, to his calvary ; 
and is crowned by his ever helpipg Guide, Jesus, with 
the bays of Christian conquest. 

Various, indeed, are the crosses borne by mortals. 
Some are hewn out of impatience, others out of anger. 
Jealousy constitutes some ; envy, malice, or revenge 
makes others. Wealth, excessive ambition, fame, or 
power is the glittering part of many a cro3s. Yet, the 
heaviest cross is sin. Ever}' other cross may afford 
an eternity of happiness for the one afflicted by its bur- 
den. Everyone may look to heaven for help to carry 
his cross, except the sinner. He can get help from the 
same divine source — not to carry his cross, but to cast 
it off. Is he not a fool if he do not avail himself of 
such a beneficent opportunity ? Jesus set out from 
Pilate's judicial hall for him. Jesus died for him. Jesus 
asks him to come to Himself and He will place a lighter 
cross upon his weary shoulders : " My yoke is sweet 
and My bitrden lights Will he refuse ? Will anyone 
refuse a request so much for his own good and from 
so great a Friend ? 

My Christian friends, you have often seen what an 
insufferable cross sickness produces. Sickness in every 
form is a heavy cross to bear. You have seen sickness 
crushing a child under its unrelenting load. You have 
seen a family deprived of its support by the sickness 
of the parent. You have seen the widow moaning over 
her dying son in w^hom she had centred every hope. 
He was to be the staff of her old age, upon which she 
could lean in security. Upon him she depended for 
nourishment of body and soul. He is fainting away 



16 SECOND STATION. 

under his burden and the mother is disconsolate. This 
is extremely sad. Son and mother have their crosses ; 
yet God will reward the just son and will not forget the 
grief-ladened mother ; for, " Many are the afflictions of 
the just, but out of them all will the Lord deliver themy 
(Ps. xxxiii. — 20.) 

Christian patience and Christian fortitude are the 
panacea for those heavily burdened with crosses. 
Wailings and lamentations, despair and insolently at- 
tacking the providence of God, diminish not the weight 
of a cross, but make it more chafing and more intoler- 
able. Patience robs the cross of its harassing, corrosive 
pain, while fortitude draws support from the fountains of 
Christ's wounds. Patience destroys the nails and the 
lance of despair, while fortitude centred in the Sacred 
Heart of Jesus will give strength to the cross-bearer to 
reach his calvary in triumph. Patience prevents the 
sufferer from being crucified, while fortitude displays 
his true Christian heroism. 

You should not, therefore, consider that all crosses 
are unprofitable ; nor are they always the sign of God's 
wrath ; for, ''Many are the afflictions of the just, but out of 
them all will the Lord deliver them J' Even in temporal 
affairs crosses are often useful. They are efficacious in 
teaching us what we are, while they mellow our hearts 
for the woes of others. When God imposes a cross 
upon a just person, he may be assured that it is a bless- 
ing to him. It may be painful at times, but the pain 
purifies, enriches, and sanctifies the sufferer. Heaven 
requires purity of soul, and the cross purifies. Jesus 
says : " He that taketh not up his cross and follow eth Me is 
not worthy of Me.'' (Math. x. — 38.) Let us then carry 
our crosses, ever obeying the will of our divine Re- 
deemer. He would not counsel us to undertake some- 



SECOND STATION. 17 

thing prejudicial to our best interests. Still we must 
be prudent. We should not take upon our shoulders 
any cross offensive to Almighty God or destructive 
toourselves. 

Many indeed are the ills of life, but we should not 
multiply them. They come in various forms. The rich 
think the poor have no crosses ; and the poor thi-nk the 
rich have diamond studded crosses and velvet covered 
paths to trod on the way to their calvary. This is a 
mistake. To be sure the cross is light for many a one ; 
but wealth or poverty has not much to do with lessening 
the burden. The heavy cross of one person would be 
light for another, and another's cross would crush a 
weaker nature. The old maxim that, " God gives a back 
for the burden," has much truth in it. Confidence in 
God imparts strength. Resolution is born of hope. 
Christian victory is the reward of faith, hope, and 
confidence. And though the cross ofttimes presses 
heavily, painfully, mortifyingly, let us carry it patiently ; 
and when we reach our calvary with ouc cross, may 
angels stoop to lift it off our mangled shoulders. 



THIRD STATION. 



Jesus Falls the First Time under His Cross. 

My Dear Brethren : At this station you behold the 
mournful sight of the Son of God fallingunder the crush- 
ing weight of His cross. He is faint ; His human 
strength is exhausted ; He succumbs to excessive weak- 
ness. He has withstood the torments of the crown of 
thorns ; He bore up during the savage scourging ; with 
equanimity He listened to the sentence of death,— but 
now faintness breaks in upon Him. Every fiber of His 
sacred body trembles, His tongue is parched, His eyes 
are blurred. His head reels, and staggering, He falls to 
the ground. Where is the Catholic who would now rush 
upon Him and deal Him blow after blow ? Where is 
the Catholic who would now crush Him deeper to the 
earth ? Where is the Catholic who would now say to 
Him : " It serves you right ; you deserve more " ? A 
repulsive thought, you may be inclined to say. Yet, 
He could turn upon you and declare : " You have done 
all these things to Me. You have been more cruel than 
the Jews." You might answer : " O God ! we never 
committed these abominations against you ! Where 
were you crushed by the Cross and we struck you ? 
Where were you insulted or cruelly treated and we said 
it serves you right ? " His reply is : " Whenever you did 
such things to any of My creatures, you did them to Me. 



,r t 



THIRD STATION. 19 

I have shown you what mercy is, but you have little 
mercy for My creatures. I have taught you charity, but 
you have heaped crosses upon others. Besides, you 
have disrespected My memory and abused My graces." 
Such could be the censures of our Divine Redeemer 
upon many and many a Catholic. 

On last Wednesday we considered the crosses which 
we make for ourselves or which we inherit from others. 
Permit me this evening to direct your attention to some 
other manufacturers of crosses, Adam and Eve were 
the first to place a cross upon human shoulders. The 
harmony which God had created was broken by their 
transgressions. Peace was exiled from the face of the 
earth. Ere long Cain stained his soul with the blood 
of his innocent brother. Again, God called upon His 
subject to answer for his crime. First, He demanded 
from Adam and Eve reparation for their sin ; now He 
brands their child Cain as a criminal : '* What hast thou 
done ? ^The voice of thy brother s blood crieth to Me from the 
earthy (Gen. iv. — lO.) Envy drove Cain to murder his 
brother, and by his crime he imposed an awful cross 
upon his own shoulders — the curse of Almighty God : 
*' Now, therefore, cursed shalt thottbe upon the earth, which 
hath opefied her7nontJi and received the blood of thy brother at 
thy hajidy (Gen. iv. — ii.) Since that bloody struggle 
between the sons of Adam and Eve, how many a crime 
has been perpetrated and how many a grievous cross 
has been consequently borne I Then lawlessness was 
introduced, and since that eventful period the reign of 
might has ofttimes ruled with impunity. The power- 
ful have destroyed the weak and the wealthy have been 
deaf to the cry of the poor Crimes have been com- 
mitted in the name of civilization, liberty, justice, and 
humanity. Disorder flourishes in the heart, in the 



20 THIRD STATION. 

intellect, and in society. Jesus came to restore con- 
cord, to impart peace, to alleviate suffering. Har- 
mony was first disturbed by the rashness of our first 
parents ; but now we frustrate the will of our Divine 
Saviour by not co-operating in the work of Christian 
tranquillity. Jesus falls under His Cross, but Christians 
are slow to profit thereby. 

In our time you note the contention going on between 
Capital and Labor. Capital endeavors to oppress Labor, 
and Labor in turn attacks Capital. Corporations care 
not whether the toiler and his family starve ; nor has the 
toiler much love for his despotic master. Capital heeds 
not the cry and moan of Labor ; and Labor, goaded to 
desperation, would strike at Capital as it would strike at 
tyranny. Would that both were to pause before the 
Third Station of the Cross ! They would behold the 
love of their Saviour for all mankind, and may learn to 
love each other better. Bleeding and exhausted, He 
pleads for humanity. The blood trickling down from His 
thorn-pierced brow, tells Capital of the priceless value 
of a human being ; to beware attempting the debase- 
ment of human kind ; to lift up and encourage Labor. 
Ah, that Capital and Labor were melted into submission 
by the teaching of this station ! Then Capital would 
not impose an agonizing cross upon the shoulders of 
Labor, nor would Labor be engaged in hewing a cross 
for Capital. 

To be less general in our remarks, let us come to 
some particular cases. You have seen a poor man, but 
an honest man, a prudent man, an industrious man, 
advance to prosperity. His industry earned a reward. 
He prospered, acquired some wealth, became influen- 
tial to some degree. His influence, however, was di- 
rected by honesty and intelligence. But no sooner has 



THIRD STATION. 21 

he attained to moderate means than many of his friends 
and acquaintances begin to burden him with the galling 
cross of envy. They will say : " We knew him when he 
was as poor as any of us. His feet protruded through 
his worn-out shoes. His trousers were patched and it 
went hard with him to get enough to eat." Thus they 
make his cross, for he hears of their embittering re- 
marks and crude sarcasm. He is tortured by the cross 
they press upon him. He is undeserving of this cruelty, 
for his prosperity is neither giddy nor heartless. But 
they would rather see him remain in abject poverty all 
the days of his life, his children hungry and in rags, 
than to see him succeed. What fiendish spirit is this 
that would crown a man's heart with thorns simply 
because he is prosperous ! Does Jesus, as He lies pros- 
trated under the cross, teach such rancor and such 
envy ? Does not His prostrated form proclaim the 
true nobilty of human nature and exhort man to lift 
himself up by honest means? 

It happens sometimes that a certain man is more 
devout than others. He never fails to hear Mass on 
Sunday. He is in church a quarter of an hour or half an 
hour before Mass time, preparing his soul by pious 
meditation for the adorable sacrifice. He receives holy 
communion more frequently than many others. He is, 
in a word, a good man. But mark the criticism. "Ah! 
we knew him once when he didn't bother the church or 
the altar. Often did we see him lying drunk in the gut- 
ter. He was a disgraceful sight ; and to hear him swear, 
it was horrible ! His mouth was ever full of profanity. 
But see him now. He sets himself up as a model for us 
all. He talks of temperance with the loquacity of an 
old woman. He assumes a very grave demeanor. Sure 
St, Peter could not appear more pious." Alas! these 



22 THIRD STATION 

miserable critics are festering this poor, honest man's 
shoulder with the cross of jeers and taunts and mimicry. 
Their taunts and jibes are thorns in his cross. They 
would prefer to see him forever a drunkard, wallowing 
in a ditch, to see his family wretched and starving, than 
to see him lift himself up and be a man. They prefer 
to see him degraded by drunkenness, debased by pro- 
fanity, disowned by society, than to see him a sober, 
industrious, devout Catholic ! Rather be the image of 
God in his soul disfigured by sin, than be respected 
for sobriety, intelligence, and grace ! Pause, villifier, 
a moment before this station ! Behold your Saviour 
crushed by the cross, that the drunkard and the sin- 
ner may rise. He fell to dignify, exalt, and enrich 
humanity. Will you dare impeach His mercy and His 
love ? Beware ! Think not that you are fashioned by 
some superior power to fasten crosses upon the aching 
shoulders of all who are better than yourself. 

Here is another poor mortal. He or she is known as 
a sinner — an unfortunate person who has abandoned the 
path of virtue for the ways of sin. His or her lot is a 
sad one; indeed, the saddest which can be conceived ; for 
after all there is no cross so cruel, so piercing, so destroy- 
ing as that of sin. The slanderer is also busy in this 
case. Her steel-plated heart and vituperative tongue 
know no pity. The truth is bad enough ; but, bad as it 
is, the slanderer makes it worse. She will gab and talk, 
and talk and gab. Some satanical impetus gives zeal 
to her vicious thoughts and vim to her energetic mouth . 
What a painful cross she makes her victim carry I Are 
not heart-aches and remorse a sufficient cross? Who 
can understand or feel the sorrow and shame of many 
a sinner? How many a sigh and moan echo and re-echo 
in the l^reaking, sin-Iadened heart, which no one hears 



THIRD STATION. ^0 

or knows ? Yes, the sinner's cross is heavy enough. 
Allurement and blandishment, youth and beauty, all 
have banished. The moan of such a heart is like the 
sigh of a cemetery. Then have pity, slanderer, and 
look upon your melancholy victim and upon the Third 
Station of the Cross. Jesus fell there for sinners. The 
sacred blood oozing from His bruised head and lacera- 
ted body pleads for your victim ! That sacred heart, 
weak and fainting, has felt for a Magdalene before. 
Beware lest your victim arise from her lamentable con- 
ditions, and rising higher and higher, draw inspiration 
and hope from the sacred wounds of Jesus, of which 
you appear to be ignorant ! The way to her calvary is 
steep and rugged ; yet, beware ! lest Jesus meet her 
there and crown her with never fading honors, when 
your infamous tongue is parched in the regions of 
perpetual darkness ! 

My Christian friends, meditate piously upon this sta- 
tion of the cross ; compassionate the sufferings of your 
Lord and your God. Do not make His cross more agon- 
izing by your unkindness to those for whom He died. 
He was crucified for all ; not that one should place a 
cross of torments upon another, but that all may be saved 
from the destructiveness of sin. Meditate upon the 
divine mercy exhibited by this station and be merciful 
yourselves. Many a holy aspiration is awakened by a 
contemplation of this sorrowful scene ; the aspiration 
of gratitude to Jesus for His love, the determination 
to avoid sin, the resolution never to increase the burden 
of anyone's cross, the prayer that we may be able to 
assuage the pain of many and lessen the cross upon 
their wounded shoulders. 



FOURTH STATION, 



Jesus Meets His Afflicted Mother. 

My Dear Brethren : At this station you behold the 
meeting of the grief-laden mother and her fainting Son. 
What anguish was there ! The mother's face, haggard 
and pale, meets the disfigured form of her beloved Son. 
She had tried hard and often to break through the 
crowd and reach Him, but she was as often repelled by 
the guards. However, a mother's affection knows no 
barriers. After repeated attempts she at last succeeds 
in approaching her tortured Son. It was only for a 
moment, for the soldiery forced her back. Still this 
moment is sufficient to wound the hearts of both more 
keenly. Well did Simeon predict that, " A sword of 
grief would pierce your heart ! " From the betrayal in 
the Garden to this meeting, every moment was an eter- 
nity of agony. A mob around her Divine Son ! A holi- 
day of cruelty and blind fury ! Did she hear the blows 
of the scourges ? Did she see the blood trickling down 
the forehead, telling the pain of the temples penetrated 
by the crown of thorns } Did the horrible words, 
" Crucify Him, Crucify Him,'' reach her heart ? She 
suffered all these torments because, if she had not been 
a witness of them, the separation only intensified her 
affliction, for the anguish of thought is more terrible 
than the anguish of vision. 

How bewildered she is ! Why should they seize her 

24 



I 



FOURTH STATION. 25 

Divine Son ? He had done no wrong. His life was 
without blemish. His miraculous works astonished 
the spectators, who trembled while they praised. Only 
last Sunday He entered Jerusalem amidst the plaudits 
of the people. Olive branches were strewn on the 
ground before Him. The populace went wild with 
praise. Why now have hosannas changed to howls of 
human fierceness ? He violated no law ; He provoked no 
disturbance ; He is guilty of no treason. Was she aware 
on Palm Sunday that ere a week had passed her Divine 
Son would die on the cross ? Did He diminish His an- 
guish by disclosing His passion and death to His mother? 
Did He unbosom His troubles to her ? Trobably He 
did not. From His childhood He knew the future. 
His sufferings were ever in His thoughts. Why now 
reveal His secret ? Why now burden His mother with 
sorrow ? It would come soon enough. The sword of 
grief would pierce her heart before the expiration of 
another week. Better retain His agony within the 
recesses of His own meek and humble heart. 

This fourth station draws all Catholic hearts closer 
to Jesus and Mary. Who can contemplate that scene 
without gratitude for Jesus and pity for Mary ? Who 
can love Jesus and disrespect that haggard, bewildered, 
weeping face of His mother ? Note the blood-stained 
features of Jesus and the intense compassion upon the 
countenance of His mother ; and tell me, can you adore 
Jesus as your Saviour and your God and revile His 
Blessed Mother ? No, no ; you cannot ! No Christian 
can ! Who speaks against Mary can be no friend to 
her Son. He does not forget that look of pity. He 
remembers the anguish of that face. Yes ; He saw the 
agony of that heart ! She is His mother. She nursed 
Him in childhood. She followed Him to Calvary. 



26 FOUKTH STATION. 

Her heart was crucified at the foot of the cross. When 
betrayed by Judas, when denied by Peter, when deserted 
by the Apostles, when led forth to die as a criminal, 
one ceaseless friend stands by Him. One friend clings 
to Him. One friend to whom He became dearer, the 
greater the debasement, and this friend is His mother. 
Can He disregard that affection ? No ; from His divine 
nature, from His justice, He could not belittle the one 
whose heaven He was. What would non-Catholics say 
of an ordinary son who would forget such kindness or 
be ungrateful for such affection ? They would say 
that he is a brute. Let me inquire, has not Jesus, the 
Son of God, as fine a conception of the duty of a son 
toward his mother as our dissenting friends have ? 

This deviation, though rising naturally from the sub- 
ject of this evening's meditation, nevertheless lead us 
away from the topic to which we now direct your atten- 
tion. The fourth station represents the meeting of 
Jesus and His mother ; and among other things, it sug- 
gests the thought that many a mother has been afflicted 
by the sight of her son since that eventful Good Fri- 
day. All this affliction did not flow from viciousness ; 
for many a son has brought sorrow to his mother's 
heart on account of his heroic action. Many a son has 
bled and died in his country's service. The mother 
approved his patriotism while her heart wept over the 
sacrifice. Other noble sons were crushed by tyranny. 
The mother's soul was convulsed with affliction when 
she saw her darling boy led forth to execution. His 
only crime was that he loved his country too well. The 
tyrant calls him rebel ; his offense, treason. The impar- 
tial judge calls him a hero ; his resistance, patriotism ! 
History is replete with the memories of such heroes, 
and every hero had an afflicted mother. Would that 



FOURTH STATION. 27 

the tyrant, the oppressor, and the imperialist gaze on 
the Fourth Station of the Cross ; and while gazing, med- 
itate upon the rights and value of man ! 

Such affliction, however, has a balm which soothes 
the agitated heart . But what balm can a mother's broken 
heart find in a bad son ? She pleads with him to aban- 
don his vicious associates, but he is deaf to her prayers. 
He is out late at night. It may be all night. Who can 
depict the worry and the affTiction of her heart ? A 
quarrel may arise. Rashness is often the offspring of 
quarrel. He may be injured or may injure another. 
After a night of debauchery, how many a son is brought 
home wounded or dead ! How many another is hunted 
down for his crime ! A prison door closes upon him, 
while a mother's heart is torn with grief. Will such 
happen to her son ? She shudders at the apparition. 
Overwhelmed with sorrow and alone, she raises her 
eyes to heaven and begs God to protect her wandering 
boy. What a heartless young man ! Does he know 
the grief which rends his mother's soul ? Does he 
think she is hungry and cold, but still praying for him. 
O miserable, cruel son ! have you no pity ? Can you 
be ignorant of the fact, that you are your mother's only 
support ? What joy you could give her, but instead 
you are pressing down into her heart a crown of thorns ! 
Bad associates have ruined you. You are rushing to 
the Niagara Falls of your destruction and driving your 
mother to the calvary of her crucifixion. Jesus fell 
under the cross, but you profit not by His merits. 

About a month ago I visited the homes of some 
young men in this parish, and some who were not 
young, to beg them to come to Mass on Sunday. It is 
not difficult for some to give promises, nor is it hard 
for others to niake plausible excuses. Since that time % 



28 FOUKTH STATION. 

few of those upon whom I called attend Mass on Sun- 
days. The young men of this congregation, as a class, 
are not bad ; and to tell the truth, they are regular in 
their attendance at divine service on Sundays and at 
the devotions of Lent. Still, there are some who have 
no desire for anything sacred or refining. They are 
sordid of heart and unclean of soul. They are uncouth, 
vulgar, rowdyish, and dissipated, though they flatter 
themselves that they are the primest and latest develop- 
ment of gentlemanly evolution. They have no regard 
for the pleading of their mothers. You may go down 
on your knees to entreat them and to exhort them 
to rise from the stupor which holds them captive ; but 
from some fatality or another they act as if you meant 
their injury. A mother with tearful eyes will beg : 
" Now, go to church ; you will be the better for it ; 
you will be lighter of heart. God will give you 
grace to shake off the bad companions who are bent 
on your ruin. Surely, it is good to go to church. Your 
dead father set you the example. He always went to 
Mass on Sundays and holy-days. Will you not, for his 
sake, go to church and be a good boy ? " " No ; " he 
replies, " go to church yourself if you want to ; never 
mind me. I am old enough to take care of myself. 
Only pumpkin heads go to church." He listens not to 
the prayers of his mother. Her tears effect him not. 
He is determined to bring destruction upon himself, 
disgrace upon his family, and break his mother's heart. 

If the mother is dead; and if departed mothers still 
take an interest in the affairs of their children, what 
must be her grief when she looks upon the earth and 
sees her son a vagabond, a drunkard, a jail-bird ! 
Instead of giving edification to others, instead of being 
true to his mother's memory, he glories in his sinful 



FOURTH STATION. 29 

excesses. Pause, young man, before this fourth station. 
If the remembrance of your departed mother's teachings, 
if the hallowed recollections of other days do pot move 
you to compunction, look upon this picture. Behold 
your Saviour and His afflicted n^otjjer ! Why is He 
faint and pale ? Why is she sorrowful ? Why has He 
the cross upon His bleeding shoulders ? Why is her 
heart pierced with a sword of grief ? Why does His 
sacred blood trickle down into His eyes ? All this is 
for you — your soul is priceless. Behold the estimate 
in which Jesus values your immortal soul ! He dies 
that you may be honest, chaste, and sober ; that you 
may be crowned eternally by the merits of His passion 
and death. Break then the shackles of sin, show Him 
you have a heart to prize His mercies, though that 
heart is sometimes frail. 

There are some other young men who have acquired 
a certain polish, a peculiar affability of speech and 
manner which conceals the criminality of their souls. 
" They are living too fast," as you say. They are too 
lazy to work ; or, if they labor, their wages are not suf- 
ficient to sustain the gait they have taken. They must 
have money. The maintenance of their jeweled society 
demands gold. How are they to secure this neces- 
sity ? Why, forgery and theft are their servants. '* I 
will forge notes," one says to himself. " It will never 
be detected. Others were discovered, but they were 
dullards ; they gave themselves dead away. But even if 
I be caught, what is the difference ? An hour of 
pleasure is worth an age of pain." But he is caught. 
The gloom of a prison-cell envelops him. The terrible 
news reaches his mother. She is prostrated with grief. 
Another young life is blasted and another mother 
carries her cross ! 



30 FOURTH STATION. 

Thank God there are not many Catholic young men 
guilty of such crimes. Yet, while we rejoice that they 
avoid such deception, we cannot close our eyes to their 
violation of the law of God and man in other matters. 
Catholic young men are in prison just as well as others, 
Bad company induced them to indolence. Indolence 
begot the desire to possess without labor and this desire 
was their ruination. Behind prison bars they have 
time to reflect upon the ennobling opportunities they 
squandered, upon the opprobrium cast upon their 
families, upon the gray hairs multiplied in their 
mother's head, and the bent form of a care-tortured 
father. 

Then let me say to the young men of this parish, 
never allow the scene of the fourth station to be erased 
from your memory. When tempted to enter the 
dissolute avenues of life, recall the fourth station. 
Think of the affliction it will cost the Mother of Jesus ; 
think of the thorny cross you may impress upon your 
own mother's heart ; think of the suffering of Jesus, 
that He died that you may rise higher and higher in 
the scale of honora bleachievement and Christian per- 
fection until, the battle of life bemg over, you are 
made happy for bein^ faithful to the memories of the 
Fourth Station of the Cross. 



FIFTH STATION, 



Sim.071, the Cyrejiian, Helps Jesus to Carry His Cross. 

My Dear Brethren : You learn at this station of the 
extreme weakness of your Saviour Jesus Christ. He 
shows signs of deathly faintness. His enemies are 
alarmed lest He die on the way, and they be thus de- 
prived of the opportunity to wreak their vengeance upon 
His crucified form. They see a man good and strong. 
This man is induced to help Jesus to carry His painful 
burden on that memorable journey to Calvary. Did 
Simon willingly accept the task of helping an apparent 
criminal to bear the instrument of His death ? Did he 
consider this office a disgrace ? Did the crowd howl when 
the soldiers compelled him to assist Jesus ? Or did some 
heavenly messenger of grace touch his heart ? Was his 
soul melted into sympathy at the pitiful sight before 
him ? Was he delighted when asked to help? Ah ! it 
might have been the mother's prayers which were 
heard. While following her Divine Son to Calvary, 
what fervency, what sorrow was in her supplications to 
the Eternal Father for His Son and her Son, too ! How 
she pleaded with Heaven that her Divine Son's suffering 
might be mitigated ! Did she not pray that some one 
might help Him to carry the huge burden of the cross? 

Such a prayer would be natural enough. But how 
relieved she felt when she saw the Cyrenian bending his 
shoulders to the load ! Did she pray that this Cyrenian 



32 FIFTH STATION. 

might obtain a happy death ? Certainly she did, if he 
kindly submitted to the task. And undoubtedly, if he 
did this from compassion, he was never confined in 
the prison of the damned. That Mary prayed for her 
Son we have no doubt ; and hope that some ray from/the 
throne of God's majesty awakened in Simon's bosom 
an irresistible sympathy for Jesus. If this is so, how 
great was the privilege bestowed upon the Cyrenian ! 
How highly honored ! How closely allied to the agony 
and glory of the Redemption ! It was a momentous 
Good Friday for him. 

Beyond what has been already observed, did Divine 
Wisdom have another purpose in view ? Was the love 
of Jesus for the human race greater than any considera- 
tion He had for His own weakness? Was Simon's heart 
touched, were Mary's prayers heard, that man might be 
taught to sympathize with his fellow man? Surely Jesus 
was weak and exhausted — this cannot be denied ; but 
His love for mankind was superior to His excessive 
weakness and complete exhaustion ; He wished to teach 
another grand, impressive lesson to all posterity — a 
lesson of sympathy, of kindness, and of charity. He 
wished to teach that man should assist his fellow man 
in carrying the crosses of life. How replete is this 
sorrowful journey with the beneficent teachings of 
Christianity ! Jesus teaches at every station. From His 
incomparable sorrows and weakness, joys have sprung 
up for innumerable breaking hearts. 

You may envy the extraordinary lot of the Cyrenian. 
You may desire that )'ou had been blessed with such a 
sacred privilege, but Jesus answers thus the emotions of 
your hearts : " You can be a Cyrenian. You can 
assist Me in carrying my oppressive load. You can wipe 
the sweat and blood from My disfigured face. You can 



i 



FIITH STATION. 33 

express the pathos of your hearts for My passion by 
being kind to one another. " Moreover, at this station 
He wants to teach you of His permanent fidelity to 
the human race. He declares to you : " Since man 
helped Me to carry My cross, I shall never refuse to 
assist any human creature crying to Me for help. 
There is another covenant between Me and man ; and 
according to the stipulations of this covenant, I say : 
* Come to Me all you that labor and are heavily laden, 
and I shall refresh you! " Jesus wishes to be a Cyrenian 
to every one invoking His aid. He stoops to help the 
overburdened, to console him, and to assuage his grief. 
In all this how impressively He inculcates a great prin- 
ciple of Christianity, that man should be a brother to 
his fellow man. How exactly does the teaching of St. 
Paul comply with the teaching of Christ : " Bear you 
one a7wthefs bjirdens, and so shall yoic fulfill the lazv 
of Christ. '' ( Gal. vi. — 2, ) Help therefore one another, 
console one another, encourage one another. " Kind- 
ness is the word." Kind deeds and kind words ofttimes 
awaken new life and new energy in a depressed soul; 
and these kind acts, rising to heaven, plead for the 
benefactor and bring into his own soul benedictions 
from the throne of God. 

A gardener or a florist sees one of his beautiful lilies 
wilting ; his heart throbs in pity. He is attached to 
this flower ; for he is a true botanist and loves plants 
and their blossoms with the enthusiasm of one who 
has given his life to the study of his cherished pursuit. 
He probes for the cause, or piobably his skill tells him 
immediately what the cause is. With tender nursing 
he coaxes the plant back into health. His joy increases 
each day ; and when it has regained its former beauty 
and fragrance, he rejoices as a mother only can when 



34 FIFTH STATION. 

she nurses her sick babe back into healthy life. But how 
many a human lily, how many a heart lily, declines and 
fades away, and no one asks the cause ! The signs of 
blight are on the cheek, but there is none anxious to 
dispel the blight by kindness. No one sees the heart. 
No one estimates the sorrow. No one cares. It is 
only a human being " crushed in the harness — one of 
the day's mishaps ! " How many a woe has gnawed 
and gnawed at a heart once resplendent with the blos- 
soms of affection and benevolence until the heart- 
plant is destroyed. Alas ! had kindness come in time, 
had kindness, which is to the aching heart what dew- 
drops are to the flower parched by the scorching sun — 
had kindness come in time, the poor wilting heart 
would have been made again verdant with the dews of 
hope, friendship, and resolution. Kindness dispels 
despondency as the sun dissolves the mists. Kindness 
awakens anew life in the mournful soul as spring calls 
forth new life from winter's dreary tomb. And just as 
early summer is radiant in her glories, thus kindness 
fills the sad heart with the summer of new joys. Ah ! 
kindness, how much the human heart is indebted to 
you ! You are the angel of solace ! You are the 
Cyrenian lifting many a cross from many a bleeding 
heart ! 

There is many a sympathetic person whose heart vi- 
brates with pity for the sorrows of others, but this pity 
never finds expression. It dies where it received birth, 
and is buried without any mark to indicate that it once 
lived. What good is such sympathy to the sufferer ? 
It is like a diamond in an unexplored mine. It is value- 
less. It banishes no grief, it heals no wound, it lifts no 
cross. Conceal not your sympathy. Let the chords of 
your heart so vibrate that sorrow and affliction and des- 



FIFTH STATION. 35 

pendency may hear the vibrations and be charmed 
into a new and happy life. 

There is, however, a false sympathy — the sympathy 
of a serpent — which allures while it destroys. A person, 
under the guise of an angel, will call upon another whose 
heart is breaking. You may hear her say : " I shall go 
and be very sympathetic. I shall breathe compassion 
and be pity herself. Then I shall get all the news." 
O base hypocrite ! O miserable, debased, despicable 
fiend ! I doubt not that the devils in hell would turn 
from you in disgust ! You are not a Cyrenian ! You 
lift no cross from the mangled shoulders of Jesus, but 
your unsurpassed villainy crushes the thorny cross into 
the heart of one of His creatures ! 

Never divert kindness from its fair purposes. It is 
a sacred quality of the human heart — an emanation of 
the Spirit of Christ. Christian kindness and tjae sacri- 
fices springing from it are about the only redeeming 
features in the history of the human race. In its most 
exalted form it accomplishes great things. Indeed, 
why are some few called by the glorious name of Lib- 
erator ? Why does history honor a great, benevolent 
genius who lifts the burden of oppression, the cross of 
slavery, from the shoulders of millions ? Why, I ask, 
does history and posterity honor him with the noblest 
title — Liberator ? It is because he struck the shackles 
from the bodies and the souls of countless thousands. 
He lifted the heavy cross of bondage and oppression 
from the abject forms of his fellow men. For this the 
admirer of liberty will in every age praise his greatness, 
laud his kindness, and proclaim him the Liberator of 
his people. 

Among the distinguished benefactors of humanity 
we place the self-sacrificing missionary. Read the 



36 FIFTH STATION. 

touching story which Bancroft and Gilmary Shea give 
of the heroic achievements of these saintly pioneers of 
the Gospel of Christ in our land. The northern tier of 
states, the great lakes and Canada, still retain the mem- 
ory of those celebrated Cyrenians. They lifted the cross 
from the savage — the cross of darkness pressing upon 
the intellect and heart. They pointed to heaven and 
told them of Jesus who loved them ; they infused 
Christianity into the savage soul, and they did this, too, 
without Mauser rifle or the Maxim gun. 

Various are the crosses which afflict mankind. They 
are almost as numerous as man is different. For some, 
sickness is the cross.; for others, temptation ; for others, 
doubts of faith ; and thus they continue and multiply 
beyond enumeration. Enter the sick room, see the 
infirm prostrated under his cross. How he longs to 
leave his bed, to enjoy once more the sunshine, to breath 
the exhilarating air. His eyes are dim. His mother is 
perhaps in tears. Speak kindly, cheerfully, hopefully ; 
and notice the tears disappearing from the mother's 
eyes. See her child's dim eyes- brighten with a new 
light. Note how much you will have done to raise the 
burdensome cross from off mother and child. If poverty 
is an accompaniment of this sickness, as it often is, and 
you open your purse to banish poverty, what a noble 
work of kindness you have performed ! You depart with 
the prayers of the sorrowful ; you have diminished the 
weight of their cross ; you have acquired for yourself a 
guaranty for heaven. 

Behold another suffering trom the unrelenting im- 
pulses of temptation. He or she wonders whether there 
ever will be a cessation. Bravely they have thus far 
battled against the snares of evil, still they are sinking 
under their cross. The Poet ( Pope) says that, " Reason 



FIFTH STATION. 37 

is the compass, but passion is the gale." Yea; and this 
gale becomes a hurricane, dashing the poor soul upon 
the breakers of sin — destroying, engulfing a soul which 
might have been saved had some one been near to en- 
courage hope and dissipate despondency. How many 
a person contending with discouragement, failure, 
or disappointment, has struggled tor a time ; but 
ultimately surrendered to the demon of despair and 
consequently ended his life by his own hand. Would 
that some friend had been there to rescue him from his 
torments, to lift his terrible cross from his shoulders ! 
How many might be saved from self-destruction by the 
ministering angel of kindness ! But there was no friend 
to arouse the drooping energy, no kindness to infuse 
hope, no generous hand to protect the enfeebled victim. 
Brooding, melancholy brooding dethroned reason ; 
and despondency, gaining the ascendancy, plunges the 
dagger into the woeful heart. 

Oh, be kind ! You know not how much you can do by 
kindness to heal the festering wound. Be the good Sa- 
maritan, pour into the bleeding heart the oil of charity, 
of hope, and of faith. One cross lifted off the heart of 
pain gives you a mortgage on heaven. You will be a 
Cyrenian, and the mother of Jesus will pray that your 
kindness may bring you many a joy ; and when you 
have reached your calvary, Jesus will affectionately 
bend over you, will lift your cross from your weary 
heart, will crown you with the laurels of a soul-saver. 



SIXTH STATION. 



Veroncia Wipes the Face of Jesus. 

My Dear Brethren : At this station you behold sym- 
pathy wiping the face of Jesus. He is toiling up the 
rugged hill for man's redemption. Veronica sees the 
blood trickling down His sacred forehead into His eyes, 
blinding Him and adding to His great suffering. A 
compassionate thought, like the breath of an angel, 
moves through her heart ; she forces her way through 
the crowd and offers her Redeemer a cloth to dry 
His blood-covered face. O happy Veronica ! O glori- 
ous privilege ! to be allowed to alleviate the agony of 
your Saviour ; to be so intimately associated with the 
redemption of mankind. Compassion won another 
victory and was crowned with new laurels. Jesus 
leaves the impression of His holy countenance upon the 
linen as a memorial of her sympathy and His passion, 
as a pledge that her tenderness would not be forgotten. 
Ah, compassion transforms men and women into 
angels, refines the heart with its own emotions, and 
gives new voice to the soul ! 

Jesus teaches us at this station that we should never 
permit our hearts to be barred against the tears of woe 
or the moan of anguish . We should also learn from this 
station to console and assist the innocent, though the 
crowd be arrayed against them. Jesus approved the 
devotion of Veronica, and He ever looks with favor 

38 



SIXTH STATION. 39 

upon those who never betray confidence or abandon 
distress. The heart frozen by the coldness of its own 
selfishness will avoid the jeers of the rabble by being 
always on the scoffing side ; but what it gains is dearly 
bought. A person of such congealed temperament is 
usually found among a frigid class. Masked, he may 
try to appear in other circles, may succeed for a time, 
but his cold, selfish heart will betray him. He needs 
the warming, refining influence of a long purgatory 
to thaw his soul into a semblance of Veronica's. 

You think, my dear friends, that she was notably 
favored. You are right ; and we should rejoice, since we 
are human, that there were a few human creatures on 
that sad Good Friday to maintain the honor of the 
human race. Amid the gloom of that day there are 
some rays of joy emanating from a few human hearts. 
Calvary and the Deluge are similar in this respect — all 
were not bad. A few were found who voiced the noble 
sentiment of undegraded human nature. 

Yes, Veronica was favored. You believe that thus a 
bond of friendship, ever radiant with divine grace, re- 
mained between Jesus and Veronica. There is every rea- 
son to confide in this belief. The impression of His 
holy countenance is a constant memorial of His friend- 
ship for her. Veronica is compensated beyond any other 
of His friends. I mean, of course, external compensation, 
and this external compensation is no small evidence of 
the internal reward which her soul obtained then and at 
the hour of her death; still, what is all this manifestation 
of friendship and love, compared with what He has be- 
stowed upon you and upon me. He gave her an outline 
of His sacred features. He gives you Himself in the 
Most Blessed Sacramnet of the Altar. Before He began 
His terrible passion, He thought of you, of the crosses 



40 SIXTH STATION. 

you would bear ; and in the greatness of His heart be- 
queathed you Himself in this most mysterious manner. 
We were not there to sympathize with Him. We were 
only present with our sins to burden and oppress Him 
more ; still, in the beneficence of His inexhaustible love 
He forgot, or seemed to forget for a time, the sorrows of 
the morrow in order to give us a perpetual proof of His 
compassion, a sacred pledge of His assistance, an irre- 
vocable covenant of His great love ! He instituted the 
Holy Eucharist — an imperishable compact with His 
faithful followers. 

With what fidelity is the promise, " / am with 
yoii all days, even to the consummation of the world, " 
verified in this great sacrament of Christ's love. He 
abides in the tabernacles of our churches, where every 
Catholic may approach Him. The humble, despised 
negro and Leo XHI. have equal rights in this respect. 
Bothmay cometo Him. For both He died ! Each has an 
immortal soul — a scintillation of the divinity, ransomed 
by the blood of Christ ! The peasant child and the 
princess, the beggar and the king, the semi-barbarous, 
illiterated inhabitant of Africa and the most celebrated 
scholar, kneel before the same Redeemer and are equal 
in His presence. No distinction of wealth or poverty, 
weakness or power, illiteracy or erudition, social su- 
periority or indigence, is considered by the Saviour of 
all. One distinction — only one has influence : it is the 
distinction of a pure soul from one who rejects God's 
grace ! 

Here before the tabernacle you may come, and before 
your Redeemer pour forth the sorrows of your cross, 
laden souls. Each with his own burden of grief may 
supplicate for aid in the Christian warfare of this troubled 
life. Here in His presence you can speak with Him as 



SIXTH STATION. 41 

a confiding child speaks to an affectionate father ; here 
you can make your requests ; here you can offer your 
thanksgiving; here you can ask Him to lighten your 
cross ; or, if it be His will that you should carry its un- 
diminished weight,;here you can beseech Him to give you 
sufficient strength and continued fortitude to endure its 
pangs ! In every trouble you should come to Him. In 
your joy, too, you ought not be a stranger at His 
tabernacle. Sadness and merriment should equally seek 
Him : the one to implore counsel and relief, the other to 
importune for protection and guidance. Before begin- 
ning any undertaking, when undecided what to do, when 
the soul is perplexed in any way, you should come to 
Him and entreat Him to help you. 

Ah, how many a silent, earnest, grateful prayer has 
been whispered by the human heart to Jesus in the lonely 
tabernacle ! Genius has bowed before Him and asked 
for new light ! The poet has placed on His altar the 
bays of a grateful heart and the laurels given by an 
appreciating people. The scientist, honored by the 
chaplet of a nation's praise, has brought that chaplet to 
Him— a token of gratitude ! The sculptor and painter 
have come to Him for inspiration and skill ! Yes, 
genius in every field of endeavor has brought to Jesus 
in the tabernacle the first fruits of his research and the 
prodigious results of his ardent, studious, skilful soul ! 
The peasant, the genius, and the saint have all breathed 
forth their disappointments and successes, their joys and 
their sorrows to Him. To each and to everyone asking 
with pure motives He has been a tender-hearted 
Veronica, soothing their bruised hearts, accepting their 
offerings, and blessing them with Christian fortitude. 

You, my dear friends, should avail yourselves of every 
opportunity to visit the Blessed Sp-crarnent. The young 



42 SIXTH STATION. 

should come and pray that Jesus may arm them with 
the shield of faith — faith to repulse every insinuation 
or attack of the enemy — faith when the storms of oppo- 
sition and failure are the fiercest — faith when the lower- 
ing clouds of despondency are the gloomiest — faith 
which in peace or warfare will animate the soul and keep 
it safe in the arms of God's protection. The middle-aged 
who have probably felt the weight of their cross ought to 
come and importune for relief. Life has already been 
for them a galling load. They have borne some of the 
burden and the heat. The air-castles of youth were 
dissolved by the stern hand of reality. They are grow- 
ing weary and disappointed. I would say to them : Do 
not be discouraged. You are only in the birthday of 
your existence. Eternity is endless. You are only 
advancing to your Calvary, from which, with the help 
of your Redeemer, you will ascend to a place where 
there are no crosses. Come, repose your trust in the 
Blessed Sacrament. Here you will find courage for 
your trials, help for your afflictions, and joys for your 
confidence. 

The aged, also, who must soon lay down their earthly 
burdens, should come to Jesus in the sacrament of His 
love and return thanks for all the graces and favors 
they have obtained. The rugged, craggy course of life 
has been toilsome enough, but they have overcome 
its faintness and discouragements. Have they not 
much for which to be grateful ? How many have 
fainted and been lost by the way ! You still survive, 
and survive as ardent worshippers of Christ's passion 
and death. You need not be urged to love Jesus in 
the Sacrament of the Altar ; for how often you have 
knelt and prayed before Him when your heart wept 
and your soul was crucified ! Experience has taught 



SIXTH STATION. 43 

you the efficacy of the Holy Eucharist. Now turn 
your thoughts more fervently toward Him. With hearts 
brimming with gratitude, thank Him for the many ex- 
pressions of His love and constancy ; for the many times 
He was a Veronica and a Cyrenian to you, helping you 
to carry your cross and wiping away the anguish of 
disappointment and the cruelty of woe ! Entreat Him 
to bless your last days with peace, to fortify you in 
your last illness with the sacraments of His Church, to 
bend over your last moan and wipe away the cold, damp 
sweat of death with the tender touch of His mercy. 

Alas ! what about those indifferent Catholics, those 
bad Catholics who are strangers to the Blessed Sacra- 
ment ! Their hearts are petrified by sin and their souls 
dried up by the arid desires of debauchery. They are 
ingrates ; for though they abuse God's bountifulness, 
still. He is kind to them. The air they breathe in the 
act of sin, is not theirs, but His. He permits them to 
live. He supplies them with opportunities to redeem 
their follies, so that if they are damned, they need 
blame none but themselves. Instead of coming to 
Mass on Sunday, they remain away. Instead of attend- 
ing the Stations of the Cross during this solemn season 
of Lent, and offering with contrite hearts the linen of 
repentance to compassionate the wounded countenance 
of their Saviour, they are loafing in some barroom. 
They are insolent and wretched. They are more cruel 
in their insults to Jesus than were the Jews. They 
believe in Him, still they despise Him ; they acknowl- 
edge He is merciful, yet they spurn His mercies ; they 
confess He is their God, but they crucify Him again ! 

Now, good Catholics ought to make frequent visits 
to the Blessed Sacrament, to atone for all this indiffer- 
ence, for all this abuse of bad Catholics. Besides pray- 



44 SIXTH STATION. 

ing for themselves and thanking Jesus for His goodness, 
they should make acts of reparation for the wickedness 
of nominal Catholics, for the denials and slanders of 
infidels, Jews, and unbelieving Christians. How many 
a sacrilege has been perpetrated upon the most august 
Sacrament of the Altar since Judas, with treason in his 
soul, received Jesus ! With all the compassion of your 
soul strive to make reparation for so much infamy fos- 
tered against your Saviour and your God. 

Do not only visit Him ; but invite Him, receive Him 
into your hearts to be the sustenance of your souls and 
a pledge of a happy immortality. Welcome Him to your 
hearts as you did many years ago, when you were in- 
nocent and young ; when you received Him for the first 
time ; when your souls were inflamed with the most 
ardent devotion and earnest love. Then it was not nec- 
essary to urge you to go to communion, to scold you, 
to threaten you. No ; the ardency of an innocent 
heart impelled you to Him. Your soul was enkindled 
with the fervency of your faith. Your only regret was 
that your heart was not larger, that the powers of your 
soul were not more comprehensive, that your life was 
not more perfect for His sake ! You were Veronicas 
then, extending to Him the purity of your souls to 
mitigate the cruelty of bad Christians ! 



SEVENTH STATION. 



Jesus Pal/s the Second Time. 

My Dear Brethren : At this station you meditate 
upon the second fall of Jesus under His cross. Not- 
withstanding that the Cyrenian is assisting Him, He 
grows weaker and weaker. Faintness again comes 
over Him, He totters and falls — falls again under the 
weight of sin. What a horrible burden presses Him to 
the ground ! The sins of all mankind are upon Him ! 
The sins of every human creature from Adam to the 
last child who will be born ! 

Since this sacred tragedy was caused by sin, let us at 
this station consider the appalling, destructive nature 
of mortal sin. You cannot conceive its repugnant 
character ; you can form no picture of it as it appears in 
the sight of God. Yet, you may acquire some notion of 
its heinousness and destructiveness by pondering upon 
some of its consequences. Strange to say, it had its 
origin in heaven, and there, too, it displayed its blight- 
ing attributes. Lucifer rebelled. He challenged the 
wisdom and power of the Almighty. His punishment 
was proportionate to his crime. And what a crime 
that must be for which an eternal punishment is 
inflicted ! One mortal sin robs the great Archangel of 
all his brilliancy, shears him of his glory, and hurls 
him into the abyss of hell ! 

Sacred Scripture tells you how the devastating spectre 
of sin entered the peaceful, happy Garden of Paradise. 



45 



46 SEVENTH STATION. 

It assumed, as it usually does, the fascinating power of 
allurement. But it desolated while it charmed. Adam 
and Eve were transformed by its touch. Their joy was 
turned into lamentations, their peace into contention,— 
their hearts, like the earth, became productive of thorns. 
The happiness of Paradise was changed to misery ; the 
nobility of human nature was disfigured ; and our first 
parents were banished from the heaven in which they 
were created, just as the angels were cast out of 
the celestial court of their God. Thus hell was pop- 
ulated ; and Adam and Eve and all their progeny were 
doomed to tread the thorny ways of trouble. Human 
nature now wore the brand of sin upon the soul ; and 
the body was afflicted by that brand, just as the soul 
suffers from the loathsome ailments of the body. Sin 
now trod upon the heels of sin. Men became defiled. 
Cain slew His brother. The earth was reddened by the 
blood of murder. Crime multiplied. God looked 
down upon the earth and saw the frightful prevalence 
of sin. He resolved to purify, as far as possible, the 
human race without destroying it entirely. The Deluge 
came, and man together with his sins was washed from 
the face of the earth. This was only a check to sin — a 
presentiment of its enormity. It still, however, had its 
desolating roots in the heart of mankind ; and the few 
who survived the overwhelming disaster soon propa- 
gated sin as well as the human race. Sodom and 
Gomorrha were destroyed by fire on account of the 
lewdness of their inhabitants. Sin has inflicted terrible 
calamities upon the earth. Nations have risen again..t 
nations. Blood from the hearts of the combatants has 
saturated the earth. Famine and pestilence have 
ravished man by their devastating, devouring, merciless 
frenzy ! 



SEVENTH STATION. 47 



m 

^^^^H Jesus came— came not to destroy by fire or to over- 

^ whelm with water. He came to lift man up by means 

^B of His love, to teach him the priceless value of a human 

^^1 soul, to adorn that soul with His graces. He wished to 

^^m impart to it something of that beauty which embellished 

^H it before Adam had felt the smart and depression of 

^^B sin. At this station then you behold your Saviour, the 

^^B Son of His Eternal Father, bleeding from wounds and 

^^m falling from exhaustion under the accumulated sins of 

I^V the human race. The sins of Adam were upon Him, 

|H the crime of Cain, the appalling lewdness of Sodom 

IH and Gomorrha, your sins and mine,— all the sins which 

were ever committed or ever will be committed, were 

j casting His sacred, mangled form to the earth. What 

' agony then was in that Sacred Heart ! What frightful 

hideousness around about Him ! His Eternal Father 

was accustomed to look with pleasure upon His Divine 

Son garmented in human nature : " T/izs is My 

Beloved Son iii whom I am well pleased.'' But now 

Almighty God is angry. He strikes His own Divine 

Son with the unrelenting hand of justice. Jesus is a 

Victim ! A lacerated Victim ! A sin-laden Victim for 

the redemption of the human race ! His Eternal 

Father abandons Him to the imprecations of the Jews, 

to the rage of exulting demons, to the company of 

accumulated crime. An awful cross is yours, O 

Saviour of mankind ! You see and know the heinous- 

ness of sin ! In all its black repulsiveness you see it ! 

In all its revolting cruelty, it crushes you to the earth ! 

The demons of hell rejoice as you recoil from the 

ghastly sight. They exult in their apparent triumph 

over you. Well may your human heart shudder at the 

awfulness of the scene. Well may Lucifer and his 

satellites imagine they have conquered when they see 



48 SEVENTH STATION. 

you prostrated for the second time under their mali- 
cious devices. Pause now in your hearts upon the ruin 
and repulsiveness of sin ; and ask pardon for being 
among those who crushed Him to the earth at this 
stage of His agonizing journey. 

Come, now, let us study our subject more closely. 
Let us examine the effects of mortal sin on the indi- 
vidual who has fallen within its withering scope. Judge 
from your own observations. You might not have met 
all the revolting heinousness of mortal sin, but you 
have discerned enough to convince you of its blasting 
effects upon soul and body. Often have you gathered 
to see the edifying spectacle of children receiving their 
first communion. Your heart beat in unison with 
theirs. You were children again. The recollections 
of your first holy communion were again vividly before 
you. Perhaps those imparted a pensiveness to your 
heart ; for your cross has been heavy since that never- 
to-be-forgotten land-mark in the history of your child- 
hood. Well, you noticed a child. Innocence smiled 
upon her cheek, reflecting the purity of the heart. 
The heart itself was verdant with the noblest emotions. 
The hands were clasped in prayer, the eyes modestly 
cast down, the soul contemplating the coming of 
Jesus into its humble environment. You forgot for 
the time that she was human. You were drawn closer 
to your God. A stillness pervaded your soul. A 
holy tranquillity filled your heart ; you were in the 
presence of angels. They were around about you in 
human guise. Ah, it is too sad this holy spell must 
be broken. These human angels leave the Church 
with heavenly joy in their little hearts. They are 
caressed by friends, while tears of happiness mantle 
the cheek of many a happy parent. 



SEVENTH STATION. 49 

But observe this once beautiful child in thirty years 
afterward, or perhaps less. Sin has disfigured that 
soul. The angelic emotions of childhood are banished 
by the invasion of debasing passions. The home of 
Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament was forsaken for the 
haunts of iniquity. The lofty aspirations of the heart 
are now a corpse ! Beauty has departed from the once 
lovely brow ! Innocence was strangled in the soul ! A 
desert waste where once all was purity, peace, and joy ! 
Just as a beautiful rose plucked from the vine which 
gave it life, withers, decays, and is soon despised ; so her 
soul, torn from the vine of Christ's grace, has lost all the 
exquisite perfume of innocence. The parching, deso- 
lating breath of mortal sin has made it an object 
of disgust. 

Take another example from this first communion 
class which we have been considering. There is a boy. 
His eyes sparkle with intelligence. The flower of health 
is upon his cheek. His lips, as if carved by a sculptor, 
tell of the artistic character of his soul. He has just 
welcomed his Divine Redeemer into his bosom. He is 
happy. He is planning. Yes, we may say, planning 
plans for his future. He is whispering to his Saviour. 
He is telling Him he will always be good. He will go 
to holy communion every month. He will never stain 
his soul or offend his Saviour with a single mortal sin. 
H is little heart expands under these elevating aspirations 
until he can hardly contain himself. Ah, would that he 
were always so happy ! He little knows the violent 
force of passion, the magnetic influence of allurement, 
or the enervating power of bad company, which will 
break like a storm upon his youth ! Were he to 
remain firm to the fervent resolutions of his first 
communion day, many of these snares and enticements 



50 SEVENTH STATION. 

would be shunned ; his passions, subdued and trained 
by the benign influence of religion, would ennoble 
rather than degrade him. 

He gradually becomes indifferent. He does not very 
long communicate monthly. He slowly mixes with bad 
boys. He means no wrong. His intentions are still 
good, but not steadfast enough. Youth blossoms in his 
heart and gives vigor to dangerous desires. He does 
not restrain himself sufficiently. The curb is too relaxed. 
He begins to descend the slippery way. He has not 
kept a strong bridle on himself, and his descent becomes 
accelerated. He falls — falls into one mortal sin ! He 
shudders at the thought ! Mortal sin is a monster to 
him, but he soon becomes accustomed to its repulsive 
visage. A burning desire for so-called pleasure impels 
him onward. Intoxication stimulates and imparts more 
speed. He is ere long a wreck — a wreck because he did 
not hold fast to the pledges made on that happy morn- 
ing of his first communion— a wreck also because his 
parents were too lax ! 

Look at him in after years. Where is the health which 
adorned his cheek ? Where is the lustre of the eyes ? 
Where is the charm of the whole face ? Where, in a 
word, is the angel of other days ? Mortal sin banished 
them all ! Mortal sin was the blight from hell which 
parched, wasted, and consumed the innocence of the 
soul and the comliness of the features. Poor boy ! 
On your first communion day you little knew the blight- 
ing, devastating ravishes of sin. It has, however, become 
your master. Beauty and joy and grace have departed ! 
The flower of spring time is blasted ! The pure aspira- 
tions are converted into mad desires ! The prayers of 
boyhood are displaced by the blasphemy of age ! 

Do you think I have been exaggerating, that I have 



SEVENTH STATION. 51 

been sketching an unreal picture ? If so, then behold 
this boy in an hospital of an unmentionable class of in- 
curables, His flesh rotting from his bones. See him in 
jail ; see him in the penitentiary, condemned to a life 
of hard labor ; or see him as his poor, tottering form 
ascends the scaffold to atone for crimes with his 
wasted, trembling life. No wonder that Jesus fell 
under the weight of such sins ; no wonder His Sacred 
Heart recoiled from the heinousness of all the crimes 
of all the human race ; no wonder the blood oozed 
from His sacred body in the garden, when He beheld 
all the graces which would be spurned, all the souls 
which would be lost, notwithstanding His agony and 
His mercy. 

The consequences of mortal sin are most deplor- 
able ; for it lays waste the purest things which God 
has created upon the face of the earth. Let us again 
illustrate. Take a beautiful statue of marble, — the prod- 
uct of a Canova or an Angelo — strike off a chip from 
its features, and you destroy the beauty of this prodig- 
ious creation of genius. Thousands of artists, mad- 
dened by frenzy at your rashness, would clamor for your 
death. Take one of those matchless productions from 
the brush of Titian, Raphael, Angelo, or Murillo, and 
with one spatter of ink mar its countenance, and nations 
would cry out against you. You may not believe that 
the great artists of every land live in fellowship with 
those renowned springs of genius. But let me give 
you one proof. Napoleon Bonaparte took from Italy 
Titian's Assumption of the Blessed Virgin ; but after 
the battle of Waterloo nations demanded the restora- 
tion of that gem of art to the land of its birth. Again, 
let a conflagration sweep through some celebrated 
library where the thoughts of the distinguished dead 



52 SEVENTH STATION. 

are preserved. Thousands of precious volumes are de- 
stroyed and millions of people lament the irreparable 
loss. Unborn generations would mourn the disfigure- 
ment of such masterpieces of genius and the destruc- 
tion of such priceless literary stores ; but what are all 
these compared to a single soul ; a soul— not the prod- 
uct of human skill, but the creation of the Infinite God : 
a soul whose existence is eternal, anyone of its faculties 
immeasurably surpassing any human invention, and for 
which Jesus died ! Still, just as the chip knocked from 
the statue, or the spatter of ink in the face of the can- 
vas, one mortal sin disfigures its beauty, demolishes 
its glory, destroys the destiny for which it was created. 
But where is the mourning for its loss ? Where the 
sigh for its disfigurement ? Where the moan for its 
destruction ? There is none, except it be a mother's 
tears, a father's lamentation, or the Saviour's grief ! 
Perhaps the poor unfortunate himself, in the bitterness 
of his remorse, may moan ; but these moans usually 
never go beyond the confines of his own poor, break- 
ing heart. 

Schiller gives you some notion of the effects of sin 
and the consequent pangs of remorse, in his description 
of De Morse. This despairing victim crys to his 
friends : " Oh, that I could return once more to peace 
and innocence! that I hung again ababy on the breast I 
that I were born a beggar, the meanest in the land, I 
would labor till the sweat of blood flowed from my 
brow to purchase the luxury of one sound sleep, the 
rapture of a single tear ! " What agony ! what despair ! 
O sin ! how terrible are your effects ! How you dry up 
the great springs of hope in the human soul ! This 
poor wretch continues : ** There was a time when I could 
weep with ease ! O hour of bliss ! O mansion of my 



SEVENTH STATION. 53 

father ! enjoyed with fond enthusiasm, will you never 
more return ? No more exhale your sweets to cool 
this burning bosom ? No ! No ! You are gone, gone 
forever ! " Such are the wailings of remorse, such the 
diadem of sinful pleasure, such the essence of those joys 
which mortal sin promise. 

Still, all is not lost ; still, the tortured soul may find 
peace ; still, despair may be robbed of its victory. Jesus 
did not fall the second time in vain. He did not die in 
vain. The bleeding temples, the lacerated body, stimu- 
late hope and guarantee pardon. From out His lance- 
pierced heart comes atonement and love and mercy. 
Remorse may be changed into repentance and de- 
spair into hope, in the Sacrament of Penance, which 
has its source and efificacy in the bleeding heart of 
Jesus. 



EIGHTH STATION, 



Jesus Speaks to the Women of Jerusalem. 

Here, my dear brethren, you see another expres- 
sion of sympathy. You rejoice that, even among the 
ghastly events transpiring on that Good Friday, there 
are some mitigating features. These women seeing 
Jesus bleeding from so many wounds and fainting from 
exhaustion, weep out of commiseration for Him. He 
sees their tears — holy tears of pity, which bespeak the 
compassion of their hearts. While He looks upon 
them, His Sacred Heart is afflicted on their account. 
He sees the future. He sees the destruction of Jeru- 
salem and the vast number of human beings who 
will perish of famine and pestilence as well as by the 
sword of the invader. Since the sacking of Jerusalem 
occurred only thirty-seven years afterward, these very 
women and their children were probably among the 
ill-fated inhabitants. What a harrowing sight this must 
have been for the Heart of Jesus ! How His agony 
must have been intensified as He saw these tender- 
hearted women suffering all the miseries of a protracted 
siege ! With this awful scene before the eye of His 
Divinity, He turns to them and addresses them with 
tenderness : " Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me 
but for yourselves and your childre7i.'* 

You may think it strange that such good, sympa- 
thetic women should thus perish. Still, you know that 
this often happens. It sometimes comes to pass that 

54 



EIGHTH STATION. 55 

the comparative!}' innocent are submerged by the same 
disaster which destroys the guilty. Yet, you must not 
forget that after this life there is an everlasting exist- 
ence, when the good will be rewarded and the tears of 
agony will be banished from the soul. Besides, this very 
suffering which appears to us so lamentable, is only a 
purification for the joys to be. 

You must not, however, take a too narrow view of 
our Divine Saviour's words. They not only applied to 
the women whom He was addressing, but also to many 
parents in every age and nation. Many indeed are the 
tears bad parents may shed for themselves and their 
children ; and good parents also might often shed tears 
over their lack of wisdom. How copious will be the 
tears of bad parents, when they stand at the bar of eter- 
nal justice to answer tor the children whom God intrust- 
ed to their keeping ; for the children who are reprobates j 
for the children who are doomed to walk the ways of 
crime on account of the wickedness and obstinacy of 
their parents ! Many are the parents who had not as 
much affection for their offspring as the brute manifests. 
They care not whether they go to school ; they care 
not whether they are trained in the service of God ; 
they care not whether they are on the streets late at 
night or in worse places. There is only one thing in 
which most of such parents are interested. It is that 
their children earn money for them ; and this money, 
the crystallized sweat of their children's labor, is often 
squandered by parents in drunkenness. Filth and gossip 
and drunkenness are the stencil marks upon the dis- 
sipated faces of this class of parents. 

But this is not the only class of bad parents. All 
parents who do not cultivate in their children's hearts 
a love for their Creator, are bad ; and well might they 



o6 EIGHTH STATION. 

weep for themselves and their children. If they weep 
not before it is too late, they will moan under the weighty 
hand of affliction ; and their moan will be an echo of 
more sorrow than tears can tell. The voice of the 
Almighty One will be heard in their conscience, demand- 
ing : '* Where are your children ? The voice of their 
labor, the plaintive plea of their neglect, the consequent 
howl of rowdyism, and the impoverishment of their 
souls, have appealed to Heaven against you." Woe to 
those parents ! Tears will not blot out from the mind 
of God the remembrance of their cruelty to their 
children ! 

Why do not parents learn from a careful nurseryman. 
See how attentive he is to a young tree. He is con- 
stantly solicitious for its healthy development. He 
waters its roots ; he fertilizes them. He prunes off 
all encumbrances ; he protects it from the attacks of 
all destructive insects and other parasites, and directs 
its growth. Even when well developed he does not 
forget it or relax his care. Why then has not a parent 
as much interest in his child — a child with an immortal 
soul redeemed by the blood of Christ — as the nursery- 
man, in his tree ? Why does he not water the soul of 
his child with a Catholic education ? Why does he 
not prune the soul by judicious restraint and the Sacra- 
ment of Penance ? Why does he not fertilize his child's 
soul with sacramental graces ? Why does he not pro- 
tect that soul from external attacks and even internal 
assaults by his own good example and the armor of 
sound doctrine ? Why does he not direct his child's 
intellectual and physical growth by prudent counsel r* 
Should he not be as solicitous for his child's welfare as 
the nurseryman for a simple tree ? No ; a bad parent 
does not manifest the same care for his child as a nursery^ 



EIGHTH STATION. 57 

man does for a shrub. A bad parent, instead of water- 
ing the soul of his child, drys it up by the parching 
breath of his own influence ; instead of fertilizing, he 
poisons it by his bad example ; instead of pruning, he 
grafts into it his own vile, debasing habits ; instead of 
protection, he gives exposure ; instead of directing its 
development according to the principles of sobriety, 
industry, and religion, he makes it a " chip of the old 
block," which, in this case, is about equivalent to the 
saying : " He makes his child an imp of hell." 

Do such children hear Mass and attend the other 
divine services on Sunday ? No. Why not ? Because 
the parents never go to church, nor do they encourage 
their children to go. About the only time such parents 
go to church is wdien they are corpses, and then they 
must be borne in — perhaps against their will. Do those 
children say their prayers night and morning ? No ; 
for the parents never say them. Are those children 
nourished by the graces of the sacraments ? No ; nor 
are their parents. Do those children attend a Catholic 
school ? By no means. If they attend a school at all, 
it is not a Catholic school. At a Catholic school they 
would learn to say their prayers, be instructed for the 
worthy reception of the sacraments, be trained to 
know, love, and serve their God. All this is too much 
religion for such parents to condone. Their children 
must be like themselves, destined to the environments of 
blasphemy, drunkenness, gossip, filth, and quarrelling. 
Other parents do not send their children to a Catholic 
school because, forsooth, it has not tone enough ; or 
because such approbation of a Catholic school may not 
be the best for their own social and political prosperity^ 
or that of their children. The eternal interest of the 
children must be weighed against what is supposed to 



58 EIGHTH STATION. 

be their temporal gain; and the former is only a feather 
compared with the ponderous gravity of the latter. 
Alas ! poor, foolish parents, you are sewing the seeds of 
sorrow and you will harvest an abundant crop of mis- 
fortune ! Well may you weep over the calamities 
which will come upon yourselves and your children ! 

Parents who are good themselves may prove bad 
guardians of their children. They are too indulgent to 
them, pet them too much, and overlook their mischiev- 
ous inclinations. They are good themselves, and 
by some blind infatuation they think their children can 
do no wrong. Their children neglect their prayers 
sometimes, but this is nothing in the eyes of such affec- 
tionate parents. On account of some whim or another 
they refrain from hearing Mass, but this is easily par- 
doned ; they begin to associate with vicious company 
and to be out late at night, yet this conduct fails to bring 
more than a slight reprimand. When such a child 
reaches the age of fifteen, the parents become timid. 
They are afraid even to advise him, and the child's 
waywardness goes steadily on. The words of Sacred 
Scripture are verified : ''A horse not broken becomes stub- 
born, and a child left to himself zvill become headstrong.''^ 
(Eccli. XXX. — 8.) If the father attempts to correct the 
child, the mother interferes ; if the mother chastises, 
the father scolds. Ofttimes quarrels arise between 
parents on this account. The child is a witness of this 
interchange of harsh words and soon realizes he needs 
fear no danger. Ere long he vindicates the truth of- 
another passage in Ecclesiasticus ( xxx. — 9) : ** Give thy 
son his way and he shall make thee afraid!' It were better 
for child and parents, if the latter had been more ju- 
dicious. On account of such indulgence many a good 
parent has reared a bad child. Follow, then, the counsel 



EIGHTH STATION. 59 

of the Sacred Scriptures : " Give him not liberty in his 
youth, aiid wink not at his devices.'' ( Eccli. xxx. — 1 1 . ) 

You may be puzzled now as to what you should do to 
train your child properly. You may ask : " What can 
parents do ? We are blamed for every fault of our 
children, though we do for them all we can." Well, let 
me say to you : Send your children to your parochial 
school. There they will be taught to say their prayers, 
will be instructed for the worthy reception of the sac- 
raments, and will receive much profitable advice. But 
you must do more ; for you know your children are not 
all the time in school. We do not advocate savage 
punishment ; because this treatment, instead of effecting 
a cure, often aggravates the disease. No good comes 
from cruel abuse. If frequently inflicted, the child is 
benumbed, looses self-respect, and is discouraged. 
The young mind and the young heart are blunted ; 
and after a time the child cares little for punishment 
and less for its parents. Prudent correction is all right; 
but good example and wise counsel are much better. 
Advise your children. Point out to them the things 
they should avoid. Do not become impatient or dis- 
couraged, if your advices bear not immediate fruit ; 
because your children transgress in the afternoon the 
admonition given in the morning, do not despair. Set 
them good example and advise them, advise them, ad- 
vise them. Good counsel must have its effects. Your 
words will sink deeply into their souls — they will leave 
an impression which time cannot eradicate. Teach them 
to be self-respecting, self-sustaining, self-correcting ; 
teach them the words of the poet (Burns), "Cautious, 
prudent self-control is wisdom's root." Teach them 
industry also, and by all means instil reverence tor 
Alniighty God and love for the Blessed Sacrc^ment of 



60 EIGHTH STATION. 

the Altar. Infuse into their souls a taste for good 
books. These will prove to be reliable anchors in the 
storms of life. Buy a few occasionally. You may answer, 
that you have not the means. Yet you will concede that 
there are many families which spend a few dollars every 
year in things without which they could do very well. 

Train your children in this manner ; and when they 
leave home to battle with the stern realities of life, they 
will avoid the dangers in which so many perished. You 
will learn with joy of their honest efforts and hear with 
pleasure of their well deserved success. They will be 
the pride and solace of the evening of your life. Many 
will be the prayers you will offer for them and many will 
be the appeals they will make to heaven for you. They 
will bring no tears to your eyes, no shame to your 
cheeks, no sorrow to your hearts. When you are dead 
and your bodies lie silently in the cemetery, you will 
still live in their memory. Your good advices and those 
excellent old maxims will ever rev^erberate in their 
hearts. When tempted to do wrong, when opposition 
cross the path of their most earnest efforts, when dis- 
appointments appall, your words will come to them as 
angels of light and messengers of peace. They will 
be incessantly directing, administering, protecting, 
and sustaining them in the darkest nights of adversity 
and in the enchanting dangers of prosperity. 

What a noble thing it is — how inspiring, to see a 
young man or a girl away from home, contending 
successfully with the various temptations of life. Like 
some majestic ocean ship, upon which the storm beats 
and the convulsive waters threaten to engulf, but which 
plows onward, fearless and strong, thus such a youth , in 
the majesty of his Christian confidence, goes onward, 
though the storms of temptation bre^ik mercilessly 



EIGHTH STATION. 61 

upon him, though the angry sea of opposition and dis- 
appointment strive to engulf him, and though the rocks 
of disaster are near. His light-house is the counsel of 
his parents ; his polar star, God ; and his compass, 
Christian virtue. 

Then, I say to you again, train your children that you 
may have no tears to shed. Inculcate sound advice 
and Christian virtues. Your task is an arduous one, is a 
continuous one ; but your happiness and your children's 
welfare depend upon you doing your duty. If they 
are good when young, they are likely to be good in after 
years. The words of another poet still hold true in 
our age : " The child is father of the man." Train your 
children then to be good, and when they are old they 
will not bring sorrow to your heart. And when you 
are dead, many will be the prayers they will say for 
you and great will be your reward with God 



NINTH STATION. 



Jesus Falls the Third Time tinder the Cross. 

My Dear Brethren : Jesus is now approaching the 
summit of Calvary. Though He has not now far to go 
to reach the spot where the cross will be made sacred, 
nevertheless faintness overcomes Him, His sisrht once 
more grows dim. His head reels, and He falls to the 
earth the third time. Wonderful that angels did not lift 
Him up and console Him. In the beginning of His 
passion an angel came to comfort Him. Is He now 
abandoned by His Eternal Father ? Are the angels 
remiss in their duty ? Is His own divinity indifferent 
as to what the God-Man may suffer ? Marvellous it 
may appear to you that Almighty God did not proclaim 
from the highest heavens that His justice was appeased 
and Adam's sin forever blotted out by this prostrated, 
bleeding form of His Divine Son. '* Why did not His 
own divinity assert itself," you may ask, "and declare 
the ransom and redemption of mankind by this third 
fall ? Surely He had suffered sufficiently to redeem 
man. Even so much was not necessary." You are 
right ; man could have been ransomed without so great 
agony ; but Jesus wished to give a convincing proof of 
His love and mercy to the hardest hearts. He saw what 
want of faith would in every age render man's heart 
cold and doubtful. Hence He wanted to establish 
an unconquerable proof of His mercy and benevolence 
— a proof which would carry conviction to the most 

62 



NINTH STATION. 63 

obdurate hearts — a proof which would be consolation 
to the weak and hope to the sinner — a proof unequalled 
for magnanimity, anguish, and mercy ! 

Many are the lessons we may learn from the 
Stations of the Cross. At this one Jesus teaches that 
you must not succumb to the weight of your cross. 
Though He falls often, He rises again, thus imparting a 
memorable lesson which should be engraven in your 
hearts. What is this lesson ? It is this ; that though you 
fall, you should not remain prostrated. When over- 
thrown by ill-fortune, by enemies, or by sin, you must 
not despair ; when your soul is barren ; when sin has 
made it a dwelling-place ; when you feel that God must 
have forsaken you on account of your wickedness, — 
do not relinquish yourself to the weight of your cross, 
but take courage ; remember that Jesus fell this third 
time to teach you how to rise. " But how am I going 
to rise ?" someone may inquire. " How am I to cast 
off this heavy burden of sin ? How can I return and 
ask pardon from the God Whom I have so wilfully 
abused ? Where can I find that peace and light- 
heartedness of other days ? " Let me reply : All this 
can be accomplished in the Sacrament of Penance. 

Yes, in this sacrament which is so much abused, you 
can find tranquillity of soul and favor with your God. 
Yea, I say abused, for a vast number of our dissenting 
brethren have many unkind things to say of this sacra- 
ment of consolation. Many of the most learned among 
them admire the Catholic system. They praise the self- 
sacrifice of many Catholics, the heroism of Catholic 
priests, and the angel-like charity of Catholic Sisters 
among the dead and dying. They give also considera- 
ble credit to the Catholic Church for preserving litera- 
ture, promoting art, and stimulating research in the 



64 NINTH STATION. 

sciences ; but when it is a question of confession, of the 
Sacrament of Penance, then few indeed have any word 
of praise or commendation. Instead of thanking Jesus 
for His infinite kindness to the human race, they pour 
out their treasury of abuse. If they can find some 
so-called ex-priest, though he be only a sham or a 
degraded prison convict, they take him kindly, give him 
the use of their churches, or hire a hall for him to revile 
the sacred work of God. Anything to perpetuate 
their claims to Protestantism ; anything to reveal the 
abominations (?) of the confessional ; anything to un- 
mask the villainy (?) of the Catholic Church. Glorious 
efforts of Protestantism, these ! But this has been more 
or less the case since the time Jesus healed the par- 
alytic. The Jews on that occasion were scandalized, or 
appeared to be scandalized, when Jesus said to the man 
sick of the palsy : *' Son, be of good heart, thy sins are 
forgiven thee!' (Math. ix. — 2.) 

Still, notwithstanding the bitter invectives employed 
to denounce the Sacrament of Penance, it is one of the 
greatest works of Christ's mercy. Had we not this 
sacrament, where would we go for solace in trouble ? 
The breaking heart, the burdened soul, would be incon- 
solable. In this sacrament Jesus shows His mercy for 
the human race. Without it, how could the merits of 
His passion and death be applied to poor, frail man ? 
Who would dare approach holy communion ? See, 
confession is a necessary auxiliary for the worthy 
reception of Jesus in the sacrament of His love. It 
exemplifies the infinite wisdom of the Man-God ; for 
by this sacrament the soul is purified and prepared to 
welcome its Saviour in the Sacrament of the Altar. In 
the Sacrament of Penance the innocent acquire new 
strength and perseverance ; the guilty are cleansed of 



NINTH STATION. 6b 

their sins and are restored to the friendsi; ij of God ; 
the sinner who has forsaken God for years and whose 
heart is now harrowed with remorse and despair, may 
go there and find relief for every woe. Yes, remorse 
may go there and find peace ; despair may go there and 
find hope ; tears may go there and find joys ; the sinner 
of every kind may go there and receive the garb of 
innocence. Were more use made of the confessional, 
there would be fewer suicides, less despair, and more 
confidence in Christ, the Saviour of the world. 

Yet, some may say : " It is so hard to go to confession. 
It is most embarrassing ; it is repugnant to human nat- 
ure ; it is humiliating." But just look at the prostrated 
form of Jesus at this station, lacerated and bleeding, 
and you will acknowledge that confession is as easy as 
it ought to be. Nay, more ; you will admit that it is a 
very easy way, after all, to seek and obtain pardon. 
Besides, observe how Jesus Himself pleads with the 
sinner. He ingratiates Himself Into the soul at a 
favorable time when the soul is prone to listen. The 
memory recalls the past, and Jesus compares with the 
sinner a life of innocence with a 1 if e of guilt. He speaks 
to him of childhood, of its peace, of its aspirations ; and 
contrasts It with the present gloom of sin, the melan- 
choly and riot of the soul. Then, as if taking the sinner 
aside by the hand. He consoles him. Tells him : " Now, 
you must not despair. Come to confession ; all will be 
forgotten, the record of every sin will be destroyed. 
You have not courage ? Then look at M}^ hands and 
feet pierced by nails for you. See My side laid open by 
a lance, that you may have courage and may seek mercy 
where the lance sought the last faint spark of life. Do 
you consider Me cruel who has evinced so much love 
for you ? Do you think I shall spurn you for whom I 



66 NINTH STATION. 

died ? Now come and show yourself to my priest ; come 
and find peace and lightness of spirit in the sacrament 
instituted by Me for the consolation of burdened hearts 
and troubled souls." 

Our Divine Lord consigns the sinner to the keeping 
of a guardian angel, and a conflict arises. The devil 
refuses to relinquish his claims, and urges the sinner to 
remain as he is. "You cannot return," he says ; *' you 
never can be forgiven. You have sinned beyond any 
hope of pardon. You have polluted your soul There 
is no salvation for you. You have spurned God's graces 
so often ; you have destroyed innocence ; you have 
ruined yourself ; and now do you think of pardon? " In 
this or a similiar manner, Satan tries to plunge the 
sinner into despair and self-destruction. But the 
guardian angel whispers : " You can yet find mercy. 
Remember the words of your Saviour : * I came not to 
call the just but the sinner to repentance' He forgave 
the great sinner, Magdalene ; and not only forgave her, 
but had the greatest compassion for her. Did you ever 
hear of Him speaking harsh words to a penitent ? He 
knows your frailty, He knows the frailty of human 
nature, and consequently established a means by which 
every contrite penitent may obtain pardon. Come now 
to confession and every sin will be blotted out forever." 
The sinner wavers between hope and despair. The 
devil does not desist. He strives to dissipate the first 
faint rays of hope ; and argues : " Why, it is unreason- 
able for you to think of going to confession. You can- 
not keep your resolution. You will fall again, and at 
every fall heap curses on your own head. Don't go to 
confession. Wait until you are old ; until the passions 
have lost their fire ; until you are fully resolved to serve 
God. In your old age there will be time enough to 



NINTH STATION. 67 

repent. Then there will be less danger of your violat- 
ing your sacred promise in the Sacrament of Penance." 
Thus his enemy represents himself as a friend inter- 
ested in his salvation and unwilling that he should 
offend God by violated resolutions. 

But the angel asks him : " Do you know whether 
you will ever be old ? Do you know whether you will 
have time to become reconciled to God if you neglect 
this opportunity ? And if you have time sufficient, do 
you know whether Jesus will accept the offer of an 
exhausted heart ? You need not now trouble yourself 
about a relapse into sin. You have the present moment. 
Will you have the future ? You know not ; then don't 
trouble yourself about it. Two things are now neces- 
sary — sorrow for your sins and a resolution of amend- 
ment. Come then to confession. Cast aside all 
embarrassment. Jesus is your Saviour ; He died that 
you may live with Him everlastingly. He has sent me 
to you to beg you to come to confession, to tell you 
He is your friend, to assure you of His great love. 
Come, therefore, have courage, and the merits of your 
Redeemer's death will banish all remorse and despair 
and sin from your soul." The sinner yields to the 
entreaties of the angel. He confesses his sins. The 
words of absolution are pronounced, and through the 
efficacy of Christ's mercy the chains of sin fall from 
the oppressed soul. He is free again, and heaven 
rejoices. O happy penitent ! Your joys are full. 
What rapture seizes your heart ! You entered the 
confessional trembling and a slave of hell ! You leave 
it rejoicing and a child of heaven ! Remorse has 
departed with its destroying pangs ; despair with its 
maddened energy impelling to self-slaughter, is ex- 
pelled ; and now peace reigns where riot held sway ! 



bo NINTH STATION. 

Should, however, the sinner not listen to Jesus and 
His angel pleading with him ; should he obey the 
insinuations of Satan and say to himself: "There is 
time enough. I will remain as I am until satiety has 
surfeited me and old age cast its coldness about me." 
Then may the words of Jeremias, referring to Jerusalem, 
be applied by Jesus to the sinner : " Who shall have 
pity 071 thee, Jerusalem ? or who shall bemoan thee^ or 
who shall go to pray for thy peace ? Thou hast forsaken 
Me, saith the Lord. Thou hast gone backward ; arid I will 
stretch out My hand against thee ; and I will destroy thee ; 1 
am weary ofejitreating thee. ' ' ( Jerem. xx. — 5 . ) Yes, when 
the patience of Jesus is exhausted, He may turn 
upon the sinner and address him : " Who shall have 
pity on thee, O sinner ? In the day of thy woe, who 
shall have pity on thee ? Who shall calm thy aching 
brow or assuage thy agitated heart ? Who shall 
supply a remedy for remorse or guilt, or for the ravages 
of despair ? Who shall bemoan thy desolation ? Who 
shall go to pray for thy peace ? Shall thy enemies 
or thy tempter, or shall thy sins cry aloud that tran- 
quillity may come into thy soul from which they 
banished all peace ? Thou hast forsaken Me. Thou 
hast forsaken My Church. Thou hast abandoned 
My precepts — the safeguards of thy peace. Thou 
hast not hearkened to My voice pleading with thee 
to be merciful to thyself. Thou hast despised My 
passion, thou hast rejected My graces, thou hast gone 
backward ; and now I will stretch out My hand against 
thee. I will destroy thee, thou unfruitful tree. I am 
weary of entreating thee. Thou mayest now follow 
thy satanical guide to thy ruin." 

In this manner the Saviour of mankind, notwithstand- 
ing all His love for the human race, will address the 



NINTH STATION. 69 

obstinate sinner. Jeremias^ prophecy in regard to 
Jerusalem was verified, and the same will be confirmed 
in regard to the sinner at the Last Judgment, when 
Jesus will declare : " Depart from Me, ye cursed, into 
everlasti?ig fire (Math. xxv. — 41), if not before that 
awful day. Let us hope that there will not be a single 
member of this congregation who will refuse God's mercy 
during this Lenten time. Let me exhort you to pray 
for one another, to plead with one another, to beg one 
another to receive the sacraments during this holy 
season. Let parents encourage their children to com- 
ply with this sacred duty ; and let children beg their 
careless parents not to forget the great sacraments of 
Christ's mercy and love. Let them by their own noble 
example lead their parents to Christian peace and to 
the tabernacle of their God. Let us all look with com- 
passion upon this third painful fall of Jesus under His 
cross, and draw new aspirations from His boundless 
love, and new resolutions never to offend Him again. 



TENTH STATION. 



Jesus is Stripped of His Garments. 

My Dear Brethren : Our Divine Lord has at last 
reached the summit of Calvary. His toilsome, painful 
journey is ended and the executioners begin to disrobe 
Him. But what pain does this not cause ? His gar- 
ments are cleaving to His wounds. They have settled 
into the rents made in His shoulders by the scourges. 
The weight of the cross pressed the garments into the 
wounds, and as the executioners strip Him, they tear 
off with the garments His sacred flesh. His body 
bleeds anew. His sacred blood trickles down into the 
earth, sanctifying Calvary by its touch. The intense 
pain of every wound is concentrated in His adorable 
Heart, every wound a dagger, but none merciful enough 
to extinguish life ! Every wound proclaiming the awful 
malice of sin ! Every wound a guarantee of His love ! 
Does not this station impress upon your souls a use- 
ful lesson ? Does it not teach you to divest yourselves 
of sin by the Sacrament of Penance, and strip your- 
selves of sintul habits. Since mortal sin is so great a 
monstrosity, so repulsive to God', s'o revengeful on your 
Redeemer, can you deliberately establish an alliance 
with it ? Can you, after reflecting upon the pain 
endured at this station, willingly rise up against your 
Saviour and declare you have no heart to appreciate 
His mercy or to sympathize with His anguish. Strip 
yourselves then of sin, avoid its occasions, and dislodge 

70 



TENTH STATION. 71 

every pernicious habit from your hearts. If you are 
inflated with pride, look upon your Saviour at this 
station. If you are arrogant, behold the meekness of 
Jesus. Banish these vices and all other vices from 
your souls. They only make you little, though you 
may think they add to your importance. Pride begets 
fools, and arrogance is but the frown of ignorance. 

It is not now my intention to exhort you, in a special 
manner, to avoid the disgusting and dwarfing vices of 
pride and arrogance ; but to direct your minds to con- 
template the accursed habits of blasphemy and drunk- 
enness. Gaze in astonishment upon the body of Jesus, 
all bruised and torn ; and tell me can you insult His 
holy name ? Can you, in this church, go before that 
tenth station and with polluted tongue swear by that 
sacred name ? Can you come here before the altar, in 
His presence, and defy Him by using filthy profanity 
in which you commingle His name ? ** O God ! "" you 
would say, " we are not so bad ; we would not dare such 
malice ; we would not desecrate this holy place ! " Then 
why dare abuse Him elsew^here ? You think the church 
is a sacred place, and in this you are right ; but w^hat 
makes this place sacred ? Is it not the presence of your 
Redeemer ? Still, is not the whole world filled with the 
presence of your God ? Is not every spot on the face 
of the earth too hallowed for you or anybody else to 
speak the august name of God with defiled lips ? 

How repulsive it is to hear a Catholic use with disre- 
spect that sacred name amidst a filthy rabble — a Cath- 
olic who acknowledges that this same Jesus died for 
him — a Catholic who professes to believe that Jesus is 
the Son of God- -for this Catholic to assail that name, 
is most uncouth, most abominable, most barbarous ! 
Think of the monstrous rashness ! A Catholic goes to 



72 TENTH STATION. 

confession on Saturday afternoon, receives holy com- 
munion on Sunday morning, and on Sunday afternoon 
contaminates again his tongue and lips by the horrible 
sin of blasphemy ? The very tongue, the very lips 
which were sanctified in the morning by the touch of 
Jesus, become ere night the instruments of hell — instru- 
ments to hurl insults at their beneficent Saviour ! Was 
it for this He was stripped of His garments ? Was it 
for this that every wound shot its pain into the soul of 
Jesus ? Was it for this He instituted the sacrament of 
His mercy and hides Himself in the sacrament of His 
love ? 

Children often learn this poisonous habit from their 
parents. The very ones who should excite in their young 
souls a horror for profanity ; the very ones who should 
instil into the souls of their children a profound respect 
for everything sacred, swear and blaspheme in an appal- 
ling manner. How can they prevent their children 
imitating them ? Indeed, they care not to put a single 
obstacle in the way to their acquisition of this infa- 
mous vice. It is a wonder that such people fear not the 
just anger of Almighty God ; that they fear not that 
God will send some terrible calamity upon them and 
teach them reverence by affliction. A devout person 
is shocked when he hears a Jew or infidel misuse the 
holy name of Jesus in boastful profanity, but will Cath- 
olics unite with those who despise the Redeemer ? 
Will Catholics applaud their base ignorance by doing 
the same thing ? Shame on such Catholics ! Shame 
on those who would join the low herd of men who seek 
to give strength to their denial of Christ by the lowest 
vituperation of His sacred name, — a name which is 
revered in heaven, respected in hell, but abused by a 
pitiable class of so-called Catholics ! Moreover, such 



TENTH STATION. 73 

profanation bespeaks a heart debased, a soul uncultured, 
and the boorishness of the defamer. No person who 
thinks anything of himself would dare to insult His God 
in this despicable manner. Still some imagine they are 
not men ; others, that they are not conspicuous enough 
unless they can display, by the foulness of their mouths, 
how wretchedly low is their condition. A great 
achievement of which to boast ; a reproach on the 
fair name of Catholicity ; a disgrace to mankind, and 
merciless ingratitude to their benign Saviour ! 

Why do you not break up this infamous habit ? 
Why do you not strip yourselves of this blasphemous 
fault, as a proof of your sympathy for Jesus at this Sta- 
tion of the Cross ? Do you say you cannot ? Do you 
tell me it has become so imbedded in your nature that 
you cannot eradicate its roots ? You are not in earnest ; 
there is no compassion in your hearts for Jesus, Who 
allowed His garment to be torn off His lacerated body 
for your salvation. Rise in all the strength of your will 
and declare before leaving ihis church to-night, that 
you will never more wilfully profane the revered name 
of Jesus. It may be that you cannot at once entirely 
supplant this venemous practice, for it requires time 
and resolution. Yet you will have merit in conquering 
the habit, and your struggle to subdue it will be proof 
of your loving appreciation for the passion of your 
meek and benevolent Redeemer. 

Now, generally coupled with the habit of swearing is 
the sin of drunkenness. Wherever one has a residence 
the other is very sure to be there. Drunkenness, like 
blasphemy, degrades its victim. Jesus suffered and 
died to elevate human nature ; he humbled Himself that 
man may rise by his humiliation. Every lesson He 
teaches, every example He gives, is for the betterment 



74 TENTH STATION. 

of man. Will not Catholics be grateful to Him for so 
much beneficence and prove their gratitude by their 
temperance ? Will not those of you who are disposed 
to imbibe too freely divest yourselves of this ruinous 
habit as an acknowledgment to Jesus for His inex- 
pressible agony at this tenth station of His sorrowful 
journey? What a glorious triumph it would be for this 
parish, if you discontinued forevermore the use of 
intoxicants. The memory of this Lenten season would 
be forever fraught with recollections of thanksgiving. 

Now, if you only reflect upon drunkenness and its 
baneful effects, you will easily see enough of misery in it 
to deter the sober from ever indulging and to make 
the drunkard wish he had never fallen under its demo- 
niacal sway : for it demoralizes the heart, enfeebles the 
intellect, enslaves the will, and strikes at the image of 
God in the soul. No will is so strong that it will not 
demolish, no intellect so brilliant that it will not 
eclipse, no social or political position so exalted that 
it will not undermine. There is no home, be it ever 
so happy, which it will not destroy ; no person so sacred 
that it will not corrupt. What are you then to do ? 
Avoid it, hate it ; and if it has taken hold of you, battle 
to overthrow its enslaving powers. 

You may think I am too severe, that I have some 
grudge against somebody, and long to destroy his busi- 
ness. Permit me to put this grave subject clearly before 
you. Where is the dealer in such drinks, who, if he had 
a son, and that son fast becoming a drunken wreck, 
would not be grateful to me were I to reclaim his son 
from the debasement of drunkenness ? Would he not 
consider me his friend and the friend of his misguided 
boy ? Would he not rejoice to see his son once more 
a respectable, sober, peaceful member of his family ? 



TENTH STATION. 75 

To see that son walking erect in the manliness and 
beauty of his young life, would be untold joy to the 
care-worn father and heart-stricken mother. They 
would not maintain that I am trying to injure their busi- 
ness, or that I am their enemy, because I saved their 
boy, and by so doing restored happiness to their dis- 
tracted home. Why then imagine that I entertain 
the least ill-feeling against anyone when I implore you 
to beware of drunkenness ? Can I not advise and 
exhort and beseech you without being your enemy or 
the enemy of anyone else ? Why misconstrue my 
motives? When I intend your good, why declare or 
suspect that I am planning disaster for you ? Do you 
think I ever allow my own personal feelings to in- 
fluence my instructions to you ? As I gaze in thought 
at this station upon the bruised and mangled body of 
Jesus, do you think I would strike Him another blow 
or inflict upon His poor, weak body another wound 
by carrying personal enmity, if I had it, into this holy 
place ? By such actions I would be degrading the 
ministry to which He has called me, though unworthy 
of such great favor. But though unworthy, I never 
stooped to take any personal revenge in this sanctuary. 
God has always protected me without my having 
recourse to so doubtful a weapon ; and I have not yet 
lost confidence in His protecting hand. 

Again, is it not my duty to warn you, to remonstrate 
with you, and even to chide you on account of your 
faults ? Why am I here ? Is it to wink at your ex- 
cesses and by my silence to accelerate you ruin ? Am 
I to be so extremely sensitive and so fearful of your 
displeasure, that I dare not admonish you ? If that 
were true, then I would be a poor ambassador of 
Christ, and your cringing, unfaithful servant. No ; 



76 TENTH STATION. 

when I warn you against drunkenness or any other evil, 
I have no motive except duty and your good. And 
during this holy season you, everyone of you, could not 
do better than to resolve to shun the demon of intoxica- 
tion forevermore. Those of you who have never been 
under the influence or this desolating vice should thank 
God. Others who, alas ! cannot wear upon their souls 
thebadgeof such distinguished honor, ought this even- 
ing, before departing from this place, make a resolu- 
tion to strip themselves forever of this degrading 
habit. Jesus was stripped in preparation for His pain- 
ful death. Strip yourselves, too, of the craving desire 
for intoxicants ; and, though you may have to suffer 
a sort of martyrdom in the struggle, you will clothe 
yourselves with many a virtue and fill your homes 
with peaceful blessings. 

A very bad custom which some parents have is to 
send their children after the stuff. Into such a place 
a good parent would not send his children. A lifetime 
of temptation may render them familiar enough with 
the haunts of many a snare. They will be familiar soon 
enough with the abodes of vice and crime. Again, 
those parents divide with their children — all drink to- 
gether. They may say they are all very moderate, and 
this may be all veiy true. It is not the most pleasant 
duty to chide families for their little recreations. Yet, 
are not these children becoming acquainted with the 
demon which destroys millions ; and is it not the par- 
ents who are giving them the introduction ? You may 
say you are temperate ; but will you always remain so ? 
Can you withdraw the curtain of the future and see 
whether your children will ever retain the admirable 
virtue of moderation ? You cannot ; and besides, the 
divine injunction upon you is to envelop your children 



I'ENTH STATION^ 



11 



with every safeguard. Instead of nourishing a habit 
which may become a cruel master and a devastating 
fiend, lay the foundations of sobriety. Lay them 
deep and broad, that no future tempest may tear them 
from their bedv 

Now, my dear friends, if you supplant during this 
Lenten season these two disgracing vices of blasphemy 
and drunkenness ; or if you begin to uproot them, and 
continue faithfully, you will thank God for the blessing 
of this evening, and the last Lent in this expiring cen- 
tury will be one of grateful remembrance to you. Ask 
the Blessed Virgin and Saint Joseph and the patron 
saint of your church to come to your assistance. 



ELEVENTH STATION. 



Jesus is Nailed to the Cross. 

My Dear Brethren : Consider here how the weary, 
lacerated body of Jesus was stretched out upon the 
cross. The executioner takes the nails and the hammer. 
He presses the point of the nail into the palm of the 
hand, then strikes it a terrible blow. See the blood start 
forth from the wound ; see the muscles and sinews of 
the body twitch from that awful strain of agony. Blow 
follows blow, and at every blow what pain centres and 
quivers in His loving Heart ! The cruel nails teat- 
through His sacred flesh. They penetrate not only His 
hands, but they drive their torture into His soul. Where 
was His Blessed Mother ? Why did she not rush to 
her Divine Son and strive at least to soothe His great 
pain by a mother's pity ? Why did she not with a 
mother's tears and a mother's supplication beg them to 
show some mercy ? Ah ! she was there, a witness of 
that appalling scene. She heard the awful blows. She 
saw the sacred blood burst forth at every stroke. Every 
nail was a dagger piercing her aching heart. Her efforts 
to reach her Son were futile. The soldiers forbade her 
to approach. There was no mercy to be given. He had 
accepted the bitter Chalice in the garden. He must 
drink its devouring lees for the salvation of the human 
race. 

What prompted Him to suffer so much anguish ? 
What induced Him to leave heaven, to assume human 



ELEVENTH STATION. 79 

nature, and to take upon Himself all the sins of the hu- 
man race ? Ah, it was charity ! Charity it was which 
prompted Him to forsake the celestial court of His 
heavenly Father ! Charity for weak, frail, rebellious, 
ungrateful man ! God created man sufficient to stand, 
but free to fall, and fall he did ; and it demanded the 
limitless charity of Jesus to redeem him. He saw man 
in his frailty, in his sorrows, in his joys. In his sorrows He 
saw him beg for pity and relief ; in his joys He saw him 
unmindful of the needy and the poor ; in his frailty He 
saw him dejected and despairing ; and hence He came to 
preach to man the beautiful and efficacious virtue of 
charity. He beheld the tyrant and the slave ; He beheld 
wealth and poverty ; He beheld every distinction, every 
oppression, every contention, which divided or will 
divide the human race into opposing camps ; and conse- 
quently He left heaven and became incarnate to teach 
man the heavenly-born precepts of charity. 

It is only our purpose on this occasion to ask you to 
contemplate the second precept : " Thou shalt love thy 
neighbor as thyself ' \ nor do we intend to treat this 
very extensively. Let us glance, nevertheless, at a few 
things which it suggests, and resolve to profit by them. 
Let us do this in honor and love of the sacred wounds 
of Jesus, that His sacred blood may flow through our 
soul, imparting to us the true spirit of charity for 
everyone. 

Jesus teaches us, by word and example, the broadness 
of charity. He died for all human creatures. There 
was no distinction made in regard to literacy or illit- 
eracy, in regard to wisdom or ignorance ; nor was there 
any other distinguishing feature in His boundless princi- 
ple of charity. Now, as we commemorate His passion 
and death, should we not imitate His example and obey 



80 ELEVENTH STATION. 

His precepts ? By obedience we give genuine testi- 
mony of our gratitude for His love and mercy. Is He 
not deserving this gratitude ? Has He not merited our 
homage ? Then, let us evince our gratefulness and our 
reverence with visible evidence of charity. 

St. Paul says in reference to this virtue: ^' If I speak 
zvith the tojigties ofme?i and of ajigels, a?id have 7iot charity, 
I am become as a sotmding brass or a ti?ikli?tg cymbal. A?id 
if I should have prophecy, ajid should know all mysteries, and 
all k7wivledge ; and iflshoiddhave all faith, so that I cmdd 
move m.ountahis, a7id have not charity., I a7n nothing. If I 
should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, a?id if I shotdd 
deliver my body to be bur?ied, a?idhave not charity, it profiteth 
me nothing. . .And now there remain faith, hope, and charity, 
but the greatest of these is charity.'' (Cor. xiii.) This quo- 
tation bestows upon you some notion of the necessity 
and exaltedness of charity. You may have the hope of 
a saint and the faith of a martyr ; but if you have not 
charity you are not a disciple of Jesus. From St. Paul 
it is not difficult to learn that faith alone will not save 
you, although many have taught, and do yet teach, that 
all you need to do is to believe in order to be eternally 
happy with God. Indeed this, the greatest of all vir- 
tues, appertains to every human act and should permeate 
our conduct. All the vexations and disturbing conten- 
tions of our day could find solution in Christian charity. 
Were every one to adhere to this principle in practice, 
there would be honesty in every department of human 
endeavor. Labor would be linked to Capital by the 
bonds of friendship. Acrimony among neighbors 
would cease, and peace and good will reign over society. 
Instead of this we hear a great deal about humanity 
and benevolent assimilation, but behold gigantic 
plunder. Instead of the supremacy of this kindly 



ELEVENTH STATION. 81 

virtue, might rules, and there is little regard paid to the 
justice or injustice of any act, as long as the civil law can 
be escaped, or the weak can be conquered by the strong. 
The absence of charity, therefore, is what makes so 
much turbulencein society and the shedding of so much 
blood. Our Divine Lord understood all this ; and conse- 
quently on many an occasion inculcated this saving 
principle of society and promoter of civilization^ His 
Church has always taught the same precept, and how 
often has not Leo. XIIL appealed to the nations to 
revere this virtue, the cement of society. 

You may inquire : " How is it, if a person gives all 
his goods to feed the poor, that he has not charity ? 
What more can a person do ? What else is expected 
of him ? " These questions suggest as many answers. 
First, then, you may give to the poor, but give from a 
human motive. You may desire more in return than 
you give, or you may be solicitous for applause. Some 
nowadays leave the hungry starve, while they give 
large donations for the erection of magnificent libraries. 
Books are good food for the intellect, but bread is 
more relished by the hungry. Again, Christian charity 
has God for its object. Every good deed done, every 
kind word spoken, must emanate from a heart which 
wishes thereby to do the will of God. Charity — Chris- 
tian charity sees in the needy the image of God ; and 
helps the needy, because they are children of a com- 
mon Father ; but looks for neither gain nor praise. 
Besides, you might give all you possess to the poor and 
still hate others. Your charity, hence, would be only 
partial. Indeed, you would entertain charity and hate at 
the same time, and the latter would destroy the merits 
of the former. Charity, then, you must, bear in mind, 
consists not only in doing good, but also in refraining 
from the commission of injury. 



82 ELEVENTH STATION. 

How admirable is the charity of a great-souled, big- 
hearted person ! He drives out the craving pangs of 
hunger from the habitations of the poor, and clothes 
the shivering limbs ! With kind words he lightens the 
cross mortifying the heart of the afiflicted. He is an 
angel in human guise. Jesus looks with tenderness 
upon him. The world is not all selfishness, and some 
remember the anguish endured by Jesus at this station 
of the cross. Such a person's acts are recorded by the 
hands of angels, and this memory will never be blotted 
out of the Book of Life. How dark and dismal and 
cheerless would this world be but for such angels of 
charity ! 

Still, you must not only be charitable and kind, but 
you must not add to the cross of anyone another pang 
of torture. You would not have the heart or the malice 
to drive the cruel nails into the hands and feet of your 
Saviour ; nor would you strike His exhausted, mangled 
body another blow ; then do not strike one for whom 
His hands and feet were pierced. If you have no other 
motive to restrain you, have mercy on the sufferings of 
your God. How many a Catholic acts as if he were not 
a Christian ! How many a Catholic is guilty of savagery 
in this matter, from which a pagan would recoil in 
pity. The tongues of many Catholics are sharpened as 
the serpent's fangs, and upon their lips is the poison of 
the asp. How inconsistent ! In the morning they 
implore God's protection ; ere night they wound the 
hearts of others, and drive the nails deeper into the 
palms of their Saviour's hands. They assert they are 
fearless, that they say what they please. They need 
not attempt to convince us of their boldness ; it is 
stamped upon their faces ; but there is a God Who will 
humble their audacity, and melt by affliction their steel- 



ELEVENTH STATION. 83 

clad countenances. Their uncharitableness will bring 
them nothing but misery. They may defy God, they 
may glory in the recklessness of their devastating 
tongues, and proclaim without fear the malice of their 
filthy hearts ; still, they will only reap in sorrow what 
they sowed in hatred. What waste of precious time ! 
What abuse of grace ! How many hearts wounded, 
and nothing gained except the maledictions of Heaven ! 

What are the innocent to do about it ? Why, let the 
defamer and calumniator howl. The more they howl, 
the better they will be known. They can do an honest 
person no harm. Indeed, their ravings are the best 
commendations which any person can obtain from such 
a class. The fact that they attack you, is a proof you 
are not allied with such a gang ; and the absence of 
such alliance is to your honor. They are well known, 
hence they are powerless. It is only such as them- 
selves who will consider their invectives of any weight. 
They are like the angered serpent which, failing to 
destroy the object of its venom, drives its furious fangs 
deep into itself and perishes by the rancor intended for 
another. 

Now, remember, this second precept of charity teaches 
that you must love your neighbor as yourself. From 
this it follows that you must love yourself as well as 
your neighbor. In all the vicissitudes of fortune, you 
should protect yourself, defend yourself, do everything 
consonant with charity for yourself. But you ought 
not seek revenge. In your heart there should be no 
malice. You should not destroy yourself by the fever- 
ish desire of revenge. Rise above these baneful inten- 
tions which smack of hell. Ponder well the broad, for- 
giving principle of Christian charity. But, you answer : 
'* How can we forgive and forget the burning insults, the 



84 ELEVENTH STATION. 

branding wrongs, the sleepless nights, forced upon us 
without provocation ? " Many, it is true, have suffered 
from unscrupulous enemies ; still it does not seem to 
me difficult for you to pardon them. Behold your 
Divine Saviour being nailed to the cross. See His 
sacred blood flow for the redemption of all and for the 
establishment of Christian charity. Standing before 
this station and meditating upon the boundless love of 
Jesus, can you refuse to imitate His example ? Can 
you say you will not forgive ? " But how can we 
forget," you urge, '* all the malignity of our ene- 
mies ? " Ah ! this is another thing. You cannot forget. 
Somehow you may neglect to remember kindness ; but 
a grievous injury is so deeply graven on the tablets of 
your memory, that you could not forget, if you were 
to try. God created you capable to retain and recall 
the knowledge of past events ; and therefore it is not 
sinful to recollect the evils done you. Indeed, it is wise 
to remember them. Not, however, with a purpose of 
revenge, but as a source of self-protection. It is a part 
of wisdom and sagacity not to forget the malicious 
disposition of your enemies, so that you may never 
again afford them an opportunity to repeat their devil- 
ish designs. Prudence declares that there is wisdom 
in Benjamin Franklin's maxim : *' Beware of an 
enemy reconciled." 

Still, should misfortune crush your enemy, should 
the hand of God press sorely upon him, do not strike 
him while he lies helpless at your feet ; stoop and lift 
him up. Show him that a manly heart beats in your 
bosom ; that you are not impelled by a narrow, rancor- 
ous spirit of vengeance. Help him for the immortal 
image within him ! Help him for the honor of your 



ELEVENTH STATION. 85 

Saviour and your God ! Bear in mind Byron's lines : 

" The drying up a single tear has more 
Of honest fame than shedding seas of gore.' 

My advice then would be : take every lawful means for 
self-defense, but be charitable to a fallen foe. 

Then let each one of you love himself. Cultivate the 
ennobling emotions of your heart ; develop its 
resources ; cherish these lofty aspirations worthy of a 
Catholic. Enlarge your intellect ; feed it on the very 
best. Do every noble thing to bring out the impress 
of the divinity in your soul. Advance — advance from 
one state of Christian virtue to another more perfect, 
becoming at every grade of your progress more and 
more like unto your God. Let the spark of the divin- 
ity within you not smoulder, but let it shine brighter 
and brighter from year to year. Let it be fed and 
cherished by the benevolent virtue of Christian charity. 
Then when you are nailed to your bed of death, may 
the angels of God cast the shroud of charity about you ! 
May the Blessed Virgin console you ! And may her 
Divine Son whisper to your conscience : " Be of good 
cheer. My child ; all your faults are forgiven, and all on 
account of your great charity ! " 



TWELFTH STATION. 



Jesus Dies on the Cross. 

My Dear Brethren : What a death is this ! The 
marvel of men and of angels ! Your Saviour has hung 
during three long, terrible hours upon the cross. He 
has heard the jeers and blasphemy of men around Him, 
and for whom His blood is flowing. Mary, His immac- 
ulate Mother, is consigned to the guardianship of St. 
John. From the lips of sin has gone forth the cry for 
mercy, and Jesus benignly promises the penitent thief 
joy in Paradise. As the ninth hour is approaching, 
Jesus proclaims that all is consummated. His thorn- 
crowned head sinks on His bosom, and the soul of 
Jesus is beyond pain. The redemption of the human 
race is accomplished, but at what a sacrifice I Atrocious 
barbarity on the one hand, and on the other the keenest 
sufferings ! Ponder well this death ; let its history find 
lodgment in your hearts, that you ma}^ the better con- 
ceive its great agony and better understand the unstint- 
ed love of your Saviour for you. You have meditated 
during this Lent upon the sorrowful scenes on the way 
to Calvary. Now behold your Redeemer dying upon 
the cross. The whole weight of His body is resting on 
the nails in His hands and feet. Pain is too common 
a word ; suffering too feeble a word ; agony too insuf- 
ficient a word; — yea, the tongue powerless to express 
the extreme anguish of those three awful hours ! Feel, 
then, you must 1 Feel what cannot find voice to ex- 



TWELFTH STATION. 87 

press ! Feel the nails piercing your own hands and 
feet ! Feel the weight of your body hanging on these 
wounds ! And then you will have some conception of 
the love which prompted Jesus to abandon heaven for 
your redemption. Ah, were you there, you could not 
have looked upon that ghastly tragedy ! You could not 
have looked upon the greatest criminal, nor your most 
implacable enemy, dying in such horrible torments. 
But Jesus endured more than an ordinary man. His 
bod}/ was tainted by no imperfection. His perfect 
human body was consequently most delicate and most 
sensitive to pain. Besides, the horrible load of sin — the 
crimes of all mankind — was dragging His sacred body 
down upon the nails, intensifying His anguish. No 
wonder He cried out in His affliction : "My God, My 
God, why hast thou forsaken me .^ " 

What a piteous cry ! How much it tells your hearts 
of His desolation ! How much it speaks to you of 
that agony which language is too povertible to de- 
scribe ! His Eternal Father had abandoned Him at the 
moment He accepted the bitter chalice of man's sins ; 
from that moment the concentrated anger of His Eter- 
nal Father was upon Him as the victim of the sins of men. 
His beloved Son Who was once so grand in the ever- 
lasting maiisions of heaven, Whose human body was a 
masterpiece of infinite genius, was now an object of 
detestation on account of man's sin ! Ah, and even to 
inflict upon His own poor, bleeding, crucified body 
every element of sorrow, every shaft of grief, every 
drug of misery. He withdraws from the strength and 
solace of His own divinity ! Hence His boundless 
charity, desiring to demonstrate every proof of love, 
reaches the zenith of beneficence. 

Now, my Christian friends, you meditated at the tenth 



88 TWELFTH STATION. 

station upon some of the vices of which you should 
divest yourselves, as a memorial of your gratitude to 
Jesus, Who was so barbarously stripped of His garments. 
At the eleventh station your attention was drawn to 
the nailing of Jesus to the cross, that you may, in com- 
memoration of His agony, attach yourselves, yea, nail 
yourselves to Christian virtue. Then you contemplated 
the second precept of charity ; and I hope; resolved, as 
an act of atonement, to observe its obligations. Let us 
now at this station consider the first precept of charity : 
** Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole hearty 
with thy whole soid, and with thy ivhole mind.^'' 

See your Saviour dying upon the cross ; see Him 
deprived of all respect ; see Him shorn of all dignity ; 
and I ask you, do you not love Him? His whole life 
on earth was devoted to the improvement of man: He 
was kind, gentle, meek, and benevolent. He humbled 
Himself at His birth for you ; He permitted Himself 
to be condemed to the ignominous death of the cross, 
that you may live in grace ; and is He now demanding 
too much of you when He asks you to love Him ? 
But, you may say to me : " How can we love Him with 
our whole heart, with our whole soul, and with all our 
mind, and with all our strength ? Are we not created for 
a life of toil ? ' By the sweat of thy brow thou shalt earn 
thy bread' How then can we give all our attention to 
the love of God ? Must not our mind be also occupied 
with our pursuits ? Must we not plan, and plan to ex- 
ecute our plans ? " All this, my friends, can be accom- 
plished, and yet love God according to His precept. 
Jesus would not impose upon you a commandment, 
the fulfillment of which is impossible. You love God 
with your whole heart when every emotion, every 
aspiration, every desire rises to Him as burning incense 



TWELFTH STATION. 89 

from an urn. Every throb of the heart should be for 
Him. Every wish of the heart should be in conformity 
with His holy will. You should eradicate from the heart 
every impulse contrary to His law. You should pluck 
out every vice, every abject inclination, every propen- 
sity to lower yourself from the sphere of divine grace. 
In all this there is not anything antagonistic to honora- 
ble labor and permanent success. 

" Thoic must love the Lord thy God zvith thy whole 
soulP You must love Him, therefore, with your whole 
life, with that spirit which He created and which is im- 
mortal. Every breath which you breathe ought to 
be an expression of your love for Him, ought to be a 
co-operation with His eternal plan. Every faculty of 
the soul must act in accordance with the will of God, 
if you are to love Him as He prescribes. And how 
can the soul be more profitably engaged than in ener- 
getic compliance with the desire of Heaven ? Who is 
a more skilful guide ; who wiser ; who more forseeing ; 
who knows better the best means to attain the best ends, 
than He Whose wisdom fills the heavens and the earth ? 
It is unnecessary to add that when He is your Guide 
and you are complying with His directions, you are 
laboring for your own best interests, and at the same 
time loving Him with your whole soul. 

" Thou shalt love the Lord thy God zvith thy whole 
inindJ" All the intellectual faculties should love Him 
— the will, the memory, and the understanding. No 
act of the will must be in violation of any of His com- 
mandments. The memory should dwell upon all the 
blessings received from His bountiful generosity. The 
understanding should weigh carefully and direct 
wisely in compliance with His divine injunctions. Nor 
ought there be, in all the mental operations of human 



90 TWELFTH STATION. 

activity, one act contrary to the will of Heaven ; but 
every thought should emanate from a mind imbued 
with the love of God. Why cannot the husbandman 
offer the sweat of his brow and the fruits of his field to 
his Creator ? Cannot your endeavors be applied to 
earthly pursuits and at the same time be an evidence of 
your love to God ? Is not every human act performed 
consonantly with the precepts of Christianity, a good 
act proclaiming the love of the mind for the Saviour of 
the human soul? Toil is not pernicious. It is honorable, 
manly, and necessary ; and, therefore, when performed 
in accordance with the will of God, becomes holy and 
meritorious. It is then an expression of love and 
adoration from the creature to the Creator. The 
Catholic scientist, as he delves into the natural secrets 
of things, finds his heart expanding and his intellect 
marvelling at the wonderful works of God. He 
cannot but love God with all his mind. Everything 
teaches him to love God. In everything the benefi- 
cence and wisdom of God are discovered, and in the 
profundity of his admiration the scientist's enthusiasm 
becomes a prayer of love. Thus it is also with the 
philosopher and theologian. In all their investigations 
they behold the hand of God, animating, directing, 
executing with supreme benevolence ; and their studies 
and researches are prayers of thanksgiving to Almighty 
God. In the same manner the painter, the sculptor, 
the historian, and every other person, in all their labors 
should permit no opposition to the love of God. 

Finally, you should love God with all your strength. 
All the energies of your body and soul ought to be 
prayers of love to your Creator. He gave you these 
powers ; why not love Him with His own gifts and on 
c^ccount of His wonderful munificence ? Such love 



TWELFTH STATION. 91 

dignifies you ; such love destroys the snares of life 
and banishes the schemes of your enemies. In such 
love what joy, what admiration, what reward ! The 
soul becomes unfettered from sin and soars to God in 
praise, in wonderment at His great works, and in thanks- 
giving for all His liberality ! The prodigious and 
enchanting works of creation, elevating and enlarging 
the scope of a true Christian's contemplation, cannot be 
duly appreciated by an unbeliever. Even the heart 
of the savage is enkindled with a peculiar love for the 
Great Being, as the poet Pope beautifully describes : 

" Lo ! the poor Indian, whose untutored mind 
Sees God in clouds, or hears Him in the wind ; 
His soul proud science ne'er taught to stray 
Far as the solar walk or Milky Way." 

No ; yet, there is a mysterious feeling of awe arid rev- 
erence for the Supreme Being in the soul of the un- 
lettered inhabitant of the forest. Why not also in the 
soul of every Catholic ? 

Inanimate nature praises the creative power of God. 
The everlasting mountains and hills, the valleys and 
the plains, the rains and the dews, the calms and the 
tempests, the rivulet and the ocean, — all praise His 
wisdom and His power. The herbs and the plants, the 
flowers and the foliage, tell of His love and liber- 
ality to man. " Will man whom rational we call," not 
unite his voice with the praises of the angels and the 
saints, with the earth and the heavens, to proclaim the 
glory of God ? See the rose, for example. The beauty 
of its petals and sepals are unspeakable. Whence did 
they spring ? Whence did they derive their variegated 
magnificence — this delicate hue, the marvellous blend- 
ing of beautiful colors ? From the bountifulness of 
God's abundance. The sustenance comes from the 



92 TWELFTH STATION. 

earth and the atmosphere ; but do you see such beauty 
in the soil ? Do you behold it in the air ? Whence 
then does it come ? According to the wisdom and 
providence of God, the flower is endowed with the 
almost miraculous ability to paint in a most wondrous 
manner in its own laboratory, the hues and tints which 
call forth the admiration of the beholder, while they 
praise the greatness of God's power. Again, whence 
comes the perfume, the sweet, pleasing, cheering 
exhalations with which the flower fills the air ? Can you 
detect it in the air or earth ? Oh, no ; it is distilled 
in its own wonderful laboratory with a skill and a genius 
baffling the science of man ; then, too, the amount of 
the perfume which the rose emits . Day after day, when 
it is in the fullness of its glory, it gives forth this 
delightful fragrance, enriching the air and praising God. 
Wonderful manifestations of God's goodness and inex- 
haustible resources ! Thus it is with all nature. Every- 
thing declares the glory of God. Will man, the image 
of his Maker, refuse Him his love ? Will man with all 
his inscrutable powers decline to thank the Giver ? 
Will man, created a little less than the angels, endowed 
with immortality, heir to the kindom of heaven, 
redeemed by the sacred blood of Jesus, refrain from 
praising, loving, and serving His greatest Benefactor ? 
In the feverish struggle of life, see how you love 
success and advancement, wealth and comfort, fame 
and position. For these transitory things health will 
be sacrificed, friends abandoned, God ignored. Is this 
reasonable ? Is this honorable ? Is not this rash and 
in the end unprofitable ? If you love the perishable 
things of earth, why forget the imperishable ? Let 
your hearts, therefore, rise to God in prayer ; He is the 
highest good. You love and admire the works of 



TWELFTH STATION. 93 

genius, then love Him from Whom all genius and all 
beauty and all glory emanate ! The heavens resound 
with anthems of love to Him ; the earth voices His 
goodness ; will you be ingrates ? Will you by your 
want of love for Him, declare the narrowness and 
insensibility of your hearts, or your ingratitude for His 
blessings, or the barenness of your souls ? No ; you 
repudiate such insinuations ; your devotion during this 
Lenten season repudiates such barrenness of soul ; for 
the most of this congregation have been faithful and 
edifying in their attendance at every devotion — at 
every exercise, notwithstanding the inclemency of the 
weather. 

To those who are indifferent and undevotional, I 
would say, look at your Saviour at this station, dead 
upon the cross. As He hangs there He entreats you to 
be mindful of your peace here, and your peace forever 
hereafter. Might He not say of you, as He said of the 
Jews : " Father y forgive them ; they knoiv ?iot what they 
do. They are wayward, forgetful Catholics — forget- 
ful of the time when in their infancy I purified their 
souls with My grace. They are unmindful of the grace 
I bestowed upon them in the Sacrament of Penance, 
when I pardoned them every insult and replenished 
their souls with My gifts. They recollect not My love 
when I fed them with My own Body and Blood. No ; 
Eternal Father, forgive them, they are bad Catholics ! 
They have no emotion of love for Me, their Redeemer ! 
Their hearts are obdurate ; they know not what they 
dol" 

Behold your Saviour with pity, as He exclaims from 
the cross, "///^/rj/." Thirst for what ? What insatiable 
thirst has parched His lips and lacerated His sacred 
body ? Oh, my friends, this inordinate thirst was for 



94 TWELFTH STATION. 

your salvation, and for mine, and for all mankind. It 
was this great thirst which induced Him to leave 
heaven ! It was this great thirst which compelled Him 
to be born in a stable ! It was this great thirst which 
nailed Him to the cross ! Look upon the cross and 
you will learn how great was the love which produced 
this thirst. Look upon the cross and you will discover 
the effects of this thirst. See the Centurion take the 
lance. With precision He strikes the Sacred Heart of 
your dead Saviour. Blood commingled with water 
springs forth. The fountain of His love is pierced ! 
Did a single drop fall upon the Centurion ? We know 
not, nor can we say ; but He fell upon His knees, ex- 
claiming : " Truly this is the Son of God. " The first 
fruit of His death — the first conversion. What love for 
such a terrible blow ! 

Will you and I not avail ourselves of His great mercy ? 
Shall we be sullen and perverse where others sought 
and found pardon ? Will not our hearts respond to 
the touch of His affection ? See the wound made by 
the lance as if opening an easier access to His Sacred 
Heart, the last manifestation of His unquenchable 
love ! It entreats you to come to it for hope and for 
faith and for mercy, because it still loves you. Oh, 
that wound has a thousand tongues and every tongue 
proclaims His inexhaustible love and patience for the 
sinner ! O Friend of the human race ! O Divine Ben- 
efactor of poor, frail, sinful man ! In spirit we stand 
to-night on Calvary's summit and see your lifeless body 
hanging on its wounds ! We see yoiir Sacred Heart 
laid open by the lance ! Permit us to kneel with the 
Roman soldiers and crave pardon for our ingratitude 
and for our coldness and for our cruelty to you ! In 
your tender compassion, look benignly upon us. En- 



TWELFIH STATION. 



95 



kindle in our cold, forgetful souls the fire of your 
divine love, that we may ever more love you and have 
the most affectionate attachment for your Sacred Heart ! 



THIRTEENTH STATION. 



Jesus is Take?i Dozvn from the Cross. 

My Dear Brethren : The appalling drama of Re- 
demption is ended. Calvary is lonely ; all have departed 
except St. John and the holy women who gathered 
around the foot of the cross. The tumult has subsided, 
and Mary, the Mother of Jesus, with breaking heart 
kneels before the crucified form of her Son. In her 
anguish does she console herself that the bitter day is 
closing and that her Divine Son is beyond the malice of 
His enemies ? What pain has torn her heart since the 
morning began ! Jesus suffered crucifixion, but Mary 
suffered a living martyrdom ! He was the Victim of the 
sacrifice ; but she beheld, with a mother's tenderness, 
that most holy Victim slain by the cruel rabble, and 
was powerless to restrain ferocity or assuage the agony 
of the Victim ! 

A few devoted friends take Him down from the 
blood-stained altar of sacrifice. They place Him in the 
arms of His mother. She looks upon the face of the 
dead — suffering and pity and mercy and love are 
impressed upon His countenance. He left her in the 
strength and perfection of His sacred manhood, to die 
for man ; He is given back to her, disfigured, bleeding, 
and crucified. Who can estimate the sorrows and the 
shafts of pain piercing, on that Good Friday, the hearts 
of the Mother and the Son ? Who can weigh the love 
of both for the human race ? There is no standard for 

96 



THIRTEENTH STATION. 97 

that measurement, except the standard of anguish ; and 
love outweighed the anguish. Then how great is that 
love ! It is beyond all computation ! The suffering 
was the extreme of anguish ; the love was the extreme 
of affection ? 

Ah ! was Mary glad her Son was dead ? Glad they 
could not torture Him any longer ? As she looked 
into His pale, dead face, did her sighs and tears tell of 
relief as well as of compassion ? Surely she must have 
found consolation in the knowledge that her Son was 
now far above their vengeance and their malice. 
The words of holy Simeon have been more than once 
verified since Jesus accepted the bitter Chalice in the 
Garden. A sword of grief smote her heart, and rankled 
and festered there. Her Son is now in her arms. How 
she adjusts the dishevelled hair ! How she trys to wipe 
away the blood stains from His bruised forehead ! She 
trys to soothe the Dead with her caresses ! There is 
solace and relief in having Him in her arms, though 
He is mangled and dead. He thought of her in all His 
agony. When pain was the most intense, He placed her 
in the care of His beloved apostle. Saint John. Through 
her sobs she heard the words : ''Mother, behold thy S07i ; 
son, behold thy mother!' 

It seems to me most befitting to devote the medi- 
tation, at this Thirteenth Station, to Mary, the Mother 
of Jesus, and the spiritual mother of the human race. 
Oh, how can Protestants who love Jesus and praise His 
mercies and extol His love, not esteem the Blessed 
Virgin, His Mother ! Can they look upon Mary on 
Calvary's height, in all her desolation, in her tears, in 
her anguish, and not go to her and compassionate her ? 
Can they see her face moulded by the agonizing hand 
of sorrow and not pity her ? Will they not go to her 



98 THIRTEENTH STATION. 

and wipe away those tears and console that aching 
heart ? Ah ! we believe they would, if they would only 
pause to contemplate her grief. Protestants have 
hearts. Many of them are kind and sympathetic ; and 
we believe they would solace anguish wherever they 
could. You ask me now : *' Why don't they sympathize 
with the Mother of Jesus ? " My answer is : They do 
not think. Wrong notions have seized them. They 
have been taught to despise Mary ; and they have never 
stopped to consider why this despicable teaching was 
imparted to their young hearts. Convince our dissent- 
ing friends of Mary's meekness, of her love for the 
human race, of her suffering ; convince them of the 
reasonableness of Catholic devotion to her, and they 
will kneel to supplicate her pardon for all their harsh- 
ness and beg her Son to forgive their cruel treatment of 
His Mother. When Jesus remembered her in His great 
agony, giving her into the care of His most beloved 
apostle, can any Christian be unmindful of her or disre- 
spect the Mother of their Saviour ? No thoughtful, 
pious Protestant can reject Mary and at the same time 
love her Son. Prejudice clouds the understanding, 
poisons the affectionate, grateful fountains of the heart, 
and makes Christians oppose Christian truths ; but dis- 
sipate these clouds ; destroy or annul the effects of this 
poison ; and Protestants will kneel with Catholics to 
honor Mar}^ Anything else is inconsistent with the 
religion which they profess ; anything else is in oppo- 
sition to the goodness of their hearts ; anything else is 
contrary to their well known common sense. 

The Blessed Virgin is inseparably connected with the 
history of Christianity. She is the Mother of the 
Redeemer. She was with Him from the manger to 
Calvary. She wept at the foot of the cross and saw His 



THIRTEENTH STATION. 99 

life s blood ebb from His sacred wounds ; and since that 
moment until the present she has been with the Church 
established by her Divine Son, and there she will ever 
remain, respected, loved, and venerated. He gave her 
to Christianity when He bestowed her upon the Apostle 
St. John. Since the daybreak of Christianity she has 
been the Queen and Mother of Christians. In every 
age Catholics have invoked her intercession. In all 
the dangers which threatened and broke upon the 
Church, in all the tempestuous disturbances of Society, 
she has been the guardian angel of Christianity. Her 
mediation and assistance have been acknowledged time 
and again by the Church. 

In the year 1571, on the seventh of October, when the 
Turks, exulting over their bloody slaughter of Chris- 
tians in the Island of Cyprus, gathered their vast fleet 
in the Gulf of Lepanto, Christendom was agitated to 
its depths by fear. Prayers ascended to the throne of 
God, entreating aid. Throughout the Catholic world 
millions implored the Queen of Heaven to intercede 
for the Christian squadron, to bear their supplications 
to her Son, and to ask for the Christian arms His 
blessings and His help. This naval battle upon which 
so much depended lasted during five terrible hours. 
Bravely did the Christians withstand the terrific attacks 
of the Turks. Hour followed hour in this deadly con- 
flict, the sturdy, barbarous Turk determined that the 
Crescent should triumph over the Cross. How many a 
fervent appeal rose from the Christian warriors and 
their parents and their children during those five long 
hours of crimson struggle ! At last the Turkish com- 
mander was slain and victory once more entwined her 
laurels around the Cross. The Turks lost twenty-five 
thousand men in this famous battle of Lepanto and 



100 TRIETEENTH STATION. 

ten thousand of their army were taken pr soners of 
war. In gratitude for this great victory Pope Pius V. 
decreed that the feast of the Holy Rosary should 
be annually solemnized on the first Sunday of October ; 
and to the Litany of the Blessed Virgin added the 
invocation: '^ Auxtlium Christianorumy ora pro nobis, — 
Help of Christians, pray for us." From innumerable 
Catholic hearts went forth offerings of thanksgiving 
for this memorable victory ; and how many a troubled 
soul has said since then : Help of Christians, pray for 
me ! 

Among the many celebrated achievements accom- 
plished by the intercession of the Queen of Heaven, we 
shall notice only another one. More than a century 
after the renowned victory of Lepanto, the Turks 
besieged the City of Vienna with an army of three 
hundred thousand men. The Sultan of Turkey once 
again vowed he would feed his horse upon the altar 
of St. Peter's in Rome. The whole army under Duke 
Charles amounted to only forty thousand warriors. 
The city was garrisoned by ten thousand troops. Dur- 
ing forty days this little band repulsed every assault of 
the invader. Women and children joined in defending 
the city, and all resolved to conquer or perish. Per- 
ished they would have, did not Pope Innocent XI. 
induce the famous Polish chieftain, John Sobrieski, to 
hurry to the rescue of Vienna. After forced marches 
for weeks, he approached the scene of this unequal 
conflict. The garrison was exhausted. Half of its 
number had fallen, and every hope was rapidly expir- 
ing in its bosom, when rockets fired from the heights 
of Cayenberg told the weary defenders that John 
Sobrieski had arrived. His small army of twenty 
thousand men he united with the forty thousand 



THIKTEENTH STATION. 101 

troops under Duke Charles. The battle began after 
the Polish warrior had heard Mass, which he served 
himself. What were his ardent prayers on that event- 
ful September morning in the year 1683 ? How he 
besought the God of battles to look propitiously upon 
his little band ; and invoked the prayers of Mary, that 
the Turk would not trample upon the Cross, the emblem 
of her Son's victory over sin ! Many and many were 
the invocations from Catholic hearts during that long 
siege. Prayers were offered by Catholics in every land 
to the Queen of Heaven and to her Divine Son for the 
deliverance of the city from the horrors of invasion. 
The battle continued until five o'clock in the afternoon, 
when the Turkish army broke and fled. When enter- 
ing the city, the Polish hero was greeted by all as a 
messenger from heaven. The people, shedding tears of 
joy, knelt as he passed by. Mothers held their babies 
in their arms to see the warrior. " It is God Who has 
done all,'"' said this celebrated leader, to the multitudes 
who crowded around him. 

Now, what was this hero's act after entering Vienna 
in triumph ? Mark the contrast between great Catholic 
generals and those who engage in war as a means of 
promotion and human glory. Why, this distinguished 
hero entered an Augustinian church'and returned thanks 
to God and the Blessed Virgin for the glorious results 
of the day. In perpetual memory of this victory, Pope 
Innocent XI. dedicated the Sunday in the octave 
of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin as the feast of 
her august name. These are two of the victories 
obtained through the prayers of the Queen of Heaven ; 
but how many an unknown and unrecorded triumph 
has been gained by the Catholic heart through the 
prayers of the Mother of Jesus ? 



102 THIRTEENTH STATION. 

She has been with the standard of Christianity since 
that memorable Good Friday, when Jesus hallowed it 
by His sacred blood. In peace and in turbulence she 
has not abandoned that insignia of salvation. This is 
natural, this is reasonable. Being the mother of Him 
Who loves man exceedingly, it would be strange and 
contradictory were she not interested in everything 
which promotes Christianity and enhances the glory of 
her Divine Son. She has ever been with the Church 
guiding its deliberations, just as she was with the Apos- 
tles in their councils after the Ascension of Jesus to His 
Eternal Father. In the amphitheatre at Rome where 
Christian blood consecrated the Eternal City to Al- 
mighty God, Mary was present, soothing torture and 
stimulating hope. She was in the prisons of Rome as 
well as in St. Peter's and the Vatican. She has visited 
the homes of poverty as well as the palaces of saintly 
Catholics. In the abodes of distress she alleviated 
wretchedness, and in the cells of monks and nuns she 
assisted virtue and expelled temptations. She has been 
the faithful and inspiring companion of the priesthood 
in all the storms of social disturbances and in all the 
civil and political upheavals. In the wild and un- 
trodden forests of the New World, in Japan, in China, in 
every uncivilized and savage land she nourished hope 
and constancy in the troubled hearts of missionary 
priests. Popes have knelt in supplication to her, so has 
the beggar. Scholars have offered to her the first fruits 
of their genius as an act of love to her and as an act of 
adoration to Jesus. The illiterate have prayed to her ; 
nor were their entreaties discarded because of their 
illiteracy. The savage of the wilderness has venerated 
her ; nor did the most illustrious of the civilized world 
consider her badge otherwise than a token of esteem 



THIRTEENTH STATION. 103 

and knighthood. The saint poured out his heart in 
thanksgiving to her ; and she caressed the sinner while 
she discoursed to his heart upon the mercies of her 
Divine Son. She has been in the councils of the Church ; 
she has been with the Fathers and Doctors of the 
Church in their studies ; she has been the joy of the 
saint and the hope of the sinner. When the angels sang 
out on the first Christmas morning : " Glory to God in the 
highest^' she knelt at the manger of Christianity ; she 
was buried in grief when the Redemption was accom- 
plished ; she saw the rise and early development of her 
Son's Church ; and she will remain with that Church 
until the stars fall from the heavens and there is no 
longer a tenant of the earth ! 

In all this devotion toward the Queen of Heaven, there 
is no diminution of the homage due to God. He is 
the Father of all, and the supreme Ruler of the heavens 
and the earth and of all things known or unknown to 
the human intellect. She is simply our intercessor. 
When God is angry with us on account of our trans- 
gressions ; or when we are anxious for the prayers oi 
some great citizen of heaven, we turn to Mary and be- 
seech her to represent us at the throne of mercy. At 
the marriage feast of Cana, the servants besought the 
aid of Mary. She only suggested to her Son the 
embarrassment which had fallen upon the feast on 
account of the want of wine. Her wish was gratified 
by a miracle — water was changed into wine. 

Her veneration in the Catholic Church is a perpetual 
witness of the establishment of Christianity; is a witness 
of the birth of Jesus ; is a witness of the Redemption of 
man. Those foolish people who oppose her veneration 
and exile her presence from the memory of man, are 
attempting to batter down one of the great fortresses 



104 THIRTEENTH STATION. 

of Christianity ; and are uniting with the skeptic and 
the infidel, to banish from the earth every token of 
esteem for the Blessed Virgin and thereby the memory 
of Jesus Himself. Repel the Mother, and the love for 
the Son perishes. Love the Mother, and your love tor 
the Son increases. In these days of skepticism and 
infidelity, every heart should venerate Mary that the 
memory of her Son may not fail on the earth, but grow 
stronger and stronger. The one is inseparable from the 
Other. Love the one and you love the Other. Hate 
the one and you cannot long adore the Other. And 
Thou, our Crucified Redeemer, as we behold in spirit 
Thy friends taking Thee down from the blood-stained 
cross and placing Thee in the arms of sorrow, we im- 
plore Thee to give us always a loving veneration for 
Thy Blessed Mother ; and thou, O Queen of the afflic- 
ted, O Help of Christians, pray for us that we may ever 
have a friend in Jesus, thy beloved Son ! 



FOURTEENTH STATION. 



Jesus is Laid in the Sepulchre, 

My Dear Friends: Jesus is buried. His sacred body 
is at last laid to rest. No visible pomp accompanies 
the funeral. No splendid equipage follows the lifeless 
body of our Saviour to the tomb. No regal retinue, no 
glare of splendor, no national mourning attends His 
obsequies. His burial corresponds to His birth. A 
stable greeted Him at His entrance into human life. 
A manger was His cradle, a cross is His death couch. 
Lonely and sadly His few faithful friends bear His 
sacred remains to the sepulchre. Affectionately they 
lay Him there, while angels take up their positions as 
guards of honor. 

But while these mournful rites were being performed, 
Heaven rejoiced and Limbo rejoiced. What must have 
been the. joy in Limbo as Jesus, the Redeemer and Lib- 
erator, appeared to the captives therein imprisoned ! 
Their expectations were realized, their sighs were for- 
ever hushed, their moans were converted into prayers 
of gratitude. Jesus was in their midst and His presence 
was the guaranty of their releasement. The shackles 
of sin were broken, the crime in the Garden was ab- 
solved, and the Divine Liberator announced to them 
tidings which they had long desired to hear. How abject 
His death ! How glorious its effects ! 

Yes, how abject was His death ; and, yet, how com- 
patible with the design. The infidel may sneer at 

X05 



106 rOUKTEENTH STATION. 

such a death and by His scoffing seek to discredit the 
divinity of Christ. He may say it does not become a 
Divine Person to die on the cross. He may condemn 
the barbarity of the execution ; but he employs this 
barbarity as an argument against the divinity of the 
Redeemer. He may sympathize with the suffering 
Saviour ; still he uses this suffering as a sign of weak- 
ness and unbecoming the Son of God. The infidel can 
tear down ; or, at least, make incessant attempts to tear 
down ; but let him try to build up. Let him suggest 
some other death more comportable to the Saviour of 
mankind. He cannot ; for had our Redeemer died 
surrounded by royalty ; had the panegyrics of the 
princes of oratory been pronounced at His obsequies ; 
had everything been done which administers to human 
greatness, which multiplies human merits, and which 
tends to immortalize human memories, still all these 
things would have failed to accomplish the results of 
the crucifixion. One would be a human design, the 
other is divine ; and the divine purpose draws millions' 
to the foot of the cross, while the human would have 
long ago perished from the contagion of decay. 

Jesus is the Great Liberator ; and the design which 
He employed, none but a Divine Person could con- 
ceive or execute. He is the Great Liberator Who 
struck the shackles not only from the limbs of the 
human race, but also crushed the despotism of hell. 
Distinguished men have, at certain epochs, devoted 
their talents, genius, and lifetime to the amelioration 
of the bondmen of nations. Those were men of rare 
powers and shining virtues. Posterity honors them 
for the self-sacrificing part they took in the advance- 
ment of civilization. Still, where did these get their 
inspiration ? What spurred them to battle for the slave 



FOURTEENTH STATION. 107 

and the oppressed ? What encouraged them in opposi- 
tion and dismay ? Was it not from Jesus on the cross 
they drew their inspirations ? Was it not His bleeding 
heart which impelled them to do battle for the bond- 
men ? Did not His triumph over the ignominy of Cal- 
vary infuse into their souls resolution and persistency ? 
The blessings of Heaven rendered venerable their old 
age, the slave knelt in prayer for his benefactors, but 
Jesus was their Eternal Teacher and ]\Iodel. 

Had the Divine Liberator espoused a design of some 
proud scion of infidelity or atheism, the heroes of 
Christian civilization would never have wiped a tear 
from the sorrowing eye of grief ; nor pity the blood- 
stained stripes upon the back of the slave ; nor wrestled, 
in continuous struggle, with the slave-master and the 
despot. There would be no Christian heroes, for there 
would be no manger and no cross. Clothe our Re- 
deemer in the robes of royalty, place a crown of gold 
and diamonds upon His head, make Him the greatest 
of all great human rulers, and the magnetism of His 
name, the influence of His teachings, and the transmis- 
sion of His memory perish. Had He even ruled with 
legions of angels, His triumph would not be so glorious. 
Indeed, were He to govern in this manner, it would be 
incumbent upon Him to keep constantly on earth a 
standing army of the heavenly hosts ; because the 
moment they were withdrawn, mankind would rebel. 
Power was not to conquer. Power could not conquer 
the human race. Meekness and humility and love are 
the influences best adapted to evangelize and civilize 
man. These the Great Liberator employed. No other 
birth than that in the stable, no other death than that 
on Calvary, could have such imperishable potency. 
The crown of thorns on the bleeding brow of Jesus, i§ 



108 FOURTEENTH STATION. 

more attractive to the human heart than any other 
crown could be ; the mangled body, more impressive 
than the most royal robes ; the five wounds, more in- 
structive, more influential, than all the-regal decrees of 
ever)^ nation in every age. 

In His birth the Divine Liberator humiliated Himself 
to the lowest abjection. In manhood He taught 
principles, without which no civilization is possible. 
On the cross He gives an exhaustless proof of His love 
for poor, frail man. By these means His memory is 
welded with the existence of the human race. By 
these means He rules the human heart. His benefi- 
cent sway is more potent than any which opulence, 
human power, or angelic armies could have acquired. 
His was a divine design, and this design is still effectual 
in the liberation of countless millions. At His depart- 
ure from earth He entrusted the promulgation of His 
principles to twelve humble men, — weak instruments 
to convert opulent, sinful nations. What human 
intellect could have calculated the amazing results 
which have followed, and which will follow until that 
same Liberator appears to judge the living and the 
dead ? His doctrine has civilized man. It teaches 
that no human being should be a slave ; that man 
should be a brother to his fellow man ; that no tyrant 
should trample upon the rights of any person. He it 
was who introduced, and by His Church accomplished, 
everything which elevates, harmonizes, and improves 
the race of man. 

But He is more than a liberator. To strike the 
fetters off the bondman is a noble act. To dispel the 
the bondacfe of sin is a divine act. He did all this, but 
He did more. He has built asylums in every land : 
hospitals for the infirm, homes for the orphan ^nd the 



FOUETEENTH STATION. 109 

aged, abodes for the helpless and the outcast. He not 
only liberated, but He has, with a benign father's care, 
watched over the human race. Aristotle is praised for 
His learning, Socrates for His humane disposition, 
Solon as a legislator, men in every age for their philan- 
thropy ; but which of all these has served man with the 
fidelity, with the charity, with the love with which 
Jesus has ever manifested toward mankind ? None of 
these ; for they all were human and exerted only a 
human influence. He is divine, and consequently His 
influence is eternal. Moreover, if great men have 
done great things in Christian times, it was His exam- 
ple which impelled and sustained them. How various 
is His attractive power ! The child in its innocence 
kneels, and with clasped hands and a fervent heart 
returns its gratitude. The penitent prostrates himself 
after confession and exhausts the emotions of his 
heart in thanksgiving. The weak look to Him for 
support ; the strong, for protection ; the outcast, for 
mercy ; the dying, for pardon ! 

Did Pontius Pilate ever imagine that Jesus, Whom 
he condemned to death, would exert such power over 
the human heart and human intellect ? Did Caiphas 
ever dream that Christ, Whom He ridiculed, would be 
honored and adored by innumerable millions ? Did 
Herod ever think that Jesus, Whom he mocked and 
distained, would judge him, and from that judgment no 
appeal would be allowed ? No ; these thoughts never 
glimmered in their souls. And who, without divine 
assistance, could predict anything extraordinary for 
the Redeemer ? Who could, without heavenly enlight- 
enment, as he gazed upon the small, sad group bearing 
the lifeless body of Jesus to the tomb, presage anything 
of importance for Him Who was just taken down from 



110 FOURTEENTH STATION. 

the cross. Yet, in this very weakness and abandon- 
ment is His strength. From these, as from perennial 
fountains, spring forth all the grand achievements of 
Christianity. All illustrious Christian erudition iand 
all noble Christian charity were born at the foot of the 
cross. Divine was the design and affectionate the 
purpose for which Jesus descended from the throne 
of His Heavenly Father. He is the true Liberator 
Who has lifted up poor, weak, human nature ; Who has 
stabilitated society ; Who taught principles which are 
the embodiment of all wisdom ; and without which the 
individual, the family, or the nation cannot ascend to 
greatness. 

My Christian friends, you have meditated during this 
holy time of Lent upon the passion and death and 
affection of your Redeemer. To-night, as the magnifi- 
cent feast of Easter approaches, you have knelt in 
spirit at the Sepulchre. You have compassioned your 
Saviour. With hearts burning with gratitude, you have 
thanked Him a thousand times for all His mercy, for 
all His love. May it be your happiness to remain 
always faithful to Him ! May you ever draw consola- 
tion and gracfe from Him through the Sacrament of 
Penance ! May your souls be constantly replenished 
and fortified by Jesus Himself in the Sacrament of the 
Holy Eucharist ; and may you have the joy of kneel- 
ing at His eternal throne and receiving His blessing ! 



THE LORD'S PRAYER.— FIRST SERMON. 



Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. 

My Dear Brethren : Most people devote considera- 
ble time in learning how to speak well. As children, 
they study grammar to acquire accuracy in vocal 
expression. In more advanced age many give them- 
selves to the study of rhetoric for the purpose of 
embellishing their discourse. Every part of the mas- 
terpieces in prose and poetry is analyzed ; the various 
styles of discourse are considered ; and the different 
elements thereof are distinguished and weighed. Sci- 
ence, art, and literature are explored for gems of 
thought. For what end ? To give substance, polish, 
and eloquence to speech ; to realize the magic and 
the reward of oratory. For this purpose every effort 
is made to acquire proficiency in language, and no 
labor is considered too arduous by the aspirant to such 
laurels. No one becomes perfect, yet many acquire 
much ability in this pursuit. Still, while millions toil to 
speak fluently, how few they are who strive to pray 
well. Very little effort is made to ponder upon the 
many sacred thoughts contained in every prayer. The 
whole day Is employed in strenuous activity ; but the 
few minutes devoted to prayer are often passed in 
drowsiness, inattention, and distractions. You well 
know what attention and fervor should voice the senti- 
ments of the heart in prayer. Besides, reflection upon 
the many exalting and instructive suggestions con- 

m 



112 THE LOED's prayer. 

tained therein, should not be lacking. Let us, then, 
this morning meditate upon the first petition in the 
Lord's Prayer. Let us analyze, at least in a small 
degree, this beautiful prayer and dwell upon some 
of its teachings. 

In considering this subject, it may be appropriate 
to say to you, that you ought to ask God for the 
spirit of prayer, for the love of prayer. You should 
entreat Him to teach you how to pray as the disciples 
asked Him : '* Lord, teach us to pray as John also 
taught his disciples^ (St. Luke xi. — i.) The disciples 
had beheld Jesus pray. They noticed, no doubt, His 
fervor, the rapt expression on His holy countenance, 
the calm earnestness with which He addressed His 
Eternal Father ; and contrasting their own inadequacy 
with the sublimity of His appearance, they invoked 
Him to teach them to pray. Imitate the disciples. 
Ask Jesus to teach you, to impart to you the grace 
necessary for earnest, humble, confiding prayer. 
Through the grace of God every one can have a temple 
in his own bosom — his heart the altar, his prayers the 
sacrifice, and himself the priest. How grand a temple 
is this — the temple of the Holy Ghost ! How perfect 
the altar — the human heart fashioned by the Eternal 
Architect ! How noble the sacrifice — prayer, the holy 
emanations of a soul to its Creator ! With these 
reflections, let us consider the first part of the Lord's 
Prayer. 

Our Father, who art in heaven ! What a sublime 
expression ! How supreme the object addressed ! 
An acknowledgment of God, a confession of our 
faith ! Who taught you this comprehensive prayer ? 
Jesus Himself. He exhorts you, when you pray, to 
say : Our Father, who art in heaven ! Jesus thus 



■ 



FIRST SERMON. 113 

teaches us that His Eternal Father is our Father also. 
We no slaves, He no tyrant ; but our Father ! What 
a joyful relationship I and as natural as joyful ; for He 
created us. He breathed into the moulded clay the 
spark of divinity, and man was made to His image 
and likeness ; was created with all the wonderful 
faculties of soul and functions of body, — created a 
little less than the angels. Beneficent Father ! 
Dignified children ! With what gratitude we should 
say : Our Father, Who art in heaven ! 

The sublimity of the Lord's Prayer arises from the 
divinity of its Author ; its efficacy springs from the 
goodness of God and the devoutness of the petitioner ; 
its usefulness consists in the establishment of the 
brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God. No 
prayer is more charitable, none more comprehensive, 
none more instructive, than this which emanated from 
Uncreated Wisdom. This sublime prayer draws us near 
to our Eternal Father. The soul breaking through its 
narrow confines, seeks the Father of mercies. In the 
deep aspirations awakened by this prayer, the soul 
exhausts its gratitude for the inestimable privilege of 
being able to call the Father of Heaven its Father. 
And while pouring out its thankfulness, it forgets not 
to pray for the infirm, the frail, the tempted, and the 
fallen. The Our Father embraces all mankind. By 
this prayer man becomes a brother to his fellow man ; 
and all acknowledge God as their Father ! 

But the agnostic says : " Give me proof that He is 
your Father." The infidel declares : " I disbelieve He 
is your Father." The atheist proclaims : " I deny He 
is your Father." The agnostic wants proofs of God's 
existence and providence ; the infidel disbelieves in 
His existence ; while the atheist avows there is no 



114 THE lord's prayer. 

God. Everyone of these classes, in his own way, denies 
there is a God. They say : " Let us tear ourselves 
away from this notion ! It hampers us in our investi- 
gations ! We want to be independent thinkers, unre- 
strained, unfettered ! Let us rend asunder the ties of 
religion ! It chains the intellect to superstition ! It 
is a clumsy anchor to which Christians and especially 
Catholics are irredeemably moored. It impedes prog- 
ress by fettering man's intellect ; it enslaves man's 
will by its tyrannical enactments ; it produces ignorance 
by preaching piety. No ; we must delve into the secrets 
of nature ! We must soar to the utmost star and grasp 
its knowledge ! We must be progressive. Away then 
with all barriers ! We are free ! We lead the ages ! " 
These are the heroic proclamations of those who have 
little faith or no faith at all. But are they true ? 

By professing God to be our Father, are we thereby 
enslaved ? If they mean that we are prevented from 
stealing, blasphemy, lewdness, wrecking banks, plunder- 
ing public credit, treason, and every other violation of 
God's commandments, then I agree with them that we 
are slaves ; but it is from the basis of such slavery that 
honesty is promoted, families are protected, licentious- 
ness dispelled, government sustained, and the arts, 
literature, and science encouraged ! Jesus, who taught 
us this prayer, wished not to shackle the legitimate 
use of intellectual powers. It is true He desired to 
restrain us, but His restraint is our gain. He purposed 
to protect us from those destructive influences which 
blind the intellect and impede all great mental effort. 
For them to say that our Eternal Father restricts us in 
the many spheres of intellectual effort, is absurd. The 
unbeliever, in his zeal to frustrate motives of religion 
and declare his own stupendous powers, attacks re- 
ligion and the God of all knowledge. 



FIRST SERMON. 115 

Let us examine a little to see whether Almighty 
God is antagonistic to mental development and to the 
acquisition of knowledge. Mark how He has imbedded 
the secrets of nature in the world. He did not lay them 
open to man's first attempts ; but revealed them, by 
degrees, to his energies ; always giving enough to 
compensate arduous toil ; tempting man to study, to 
investigate, to analyze, to classify ; bestowing rewards 
for studious research : the reward of joy over dis- 
covery ; the reward of his fellow man's praise ; the 
reward of the plaudits of unborn generations ! Where 
was there ever a more successful Teacher ? Where 
was wisdom ever more discernible in the Teacher ? 
Leading on the diligent, patient investigator from one 
triumph to another, how wisely our Heavenly Father 
has arranged the endless book of nature to entice the 
mind of man, to engage him in useful pursuits, to 
develop his powers of body and soul ! In this book we 
behold the products of unlimited resources and evi- 
dences of God ! Yea, were the atheist to reflect and 
examine, He would exclaim with us : Our Father, who 
art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name ! 

These self-declared leaders of thought, who imagine 
they alone are progressive and that religion militates 
against progress, should remember that among the most 
advanced thinkers of our age, many Catholics stand 
foremost in the ranks. Who are more celebrated in the 
theories of evolution and microbiology than that 
brilliant galaxy of scholars nurtured at Louvain ? In 
archaeology, who are more renowned than those dis- 
tinguished Catholic scientists of Italy and France ? 
In astronomy, who is more illustrious than Father 
Secchi ? In medicine, who excels Pasteur ? In our 
own country, who are they who equal in eloquence 



116 THE lord's prayer. 

and law the many Catholics who have even won the 
laurels of praise from their opponents ? In science and 
invention, Father Zahm and his brother are not inferior 
to others in the same field. In great and permanent 
social, civil, and religious progress the Catholic Clergy 
have no superiors in this broad land. I shall not men- 
tion such celebrated scholars as Gilmary Shea, or 
Brownson, or Archbishop Hughes, or England, or the 
Kendricks. No ; these have departed to the realms of 
perpetual reward, with the bays of many an intellectual 
victory adorning their brows. There are, however, many 
another great scholar living in this country, who is 
the superior, in ever}/ branch of knowledge, to these 
boastful unbelievers. Among the distinguished living, 
permit me to mention that intellectual prodigy, 
Father Lambert. In philosophy, in theology, in the vast 
scope of his comprehensive genius, what agnostic, what 
infidel, what atheist, is his equal ? 

These and other Catholics penetrated into the 
depths of the secrets of nature. Their speculations 
embraced not only the most remote stars and nebulae, 
but even the Throne of God. Their analyses are as 
minute, their diligence as great, their comprehension 
as powerful, their reason as cogent, their genius as 
masterly, as any who are not Catholics nor Christians. 
Nevertheless, after laurels have been won, after their 
prodigious exploits are lauded by admiring scholars, 
they turned their thoughts to God and prayed : Our 
Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name ; 
Thy kingdom come ; Thy will be done on earth as it 
is in heaven ! 

Hallowed be Thy name ! that sacred name^ that 
name of Father and of God ! We hallow that name, 
and why ? Because He is our Father ; because He is 



FIRST SERMON. 117 

our God ; because He is goodness itself ! The moun- 
tains and the vales praise Him ; the forests and the 
plains bespeak His greatness ; the merest insect mani- 
fests His wisdom. Will, then, man alone, a rational 
creature, refuse to Him what all else abundantly 
bestow ? Let agnostics clamor, let atheists rant ; 
but every good Catholic will hallow that sacred name, 
will appreciate the endearment of Father, will strive 
to be an obedient child ; and both in the calm and 
tumult of his soul, will offer his homage to his God, 
while he says : Our Father, Who art in heaven, hal- 
lowed be Thy name. 



SECOND SERMON. 



Thy kingdom come, Thy zvill be done on earth as it is i?L 
heaven. 

My Dear Brethren : In these petitions you pray that 
God may reign in your hearts and that you may conform 
all your actions to His divine will. You have studied 
the world and yourselves, and you are disgusted with 
the ways of both. You are, tired of seeing the counter- 
feit pass for the real ; and the real scorned while the 
counterfeit is prized. Might rules, though wielded by 
a tyrant ; the weak oppressed, the poor despised, and 
the rogue crowned. You are moreover, dissatisfied with 
yourselves, as you manifest by your prayer. You con- 
fess your frailty ; and pray God to come into your 
hearts, that the kingdom of His grace may forevermore 
abide with you, and that by the aid of this grace you 
may do His will in all things. Besides, you pray that 
His kingdom may reside in every soul, that the truce 
of God may remain permanently on the earth, that every 
person may direct his highest ambition to the service 
of his Creator. This is your prayer, this your ardent 
desire ; but its complete realization is impossible so long 
as man retains his present inherent characteristics. Yet, 
though the acme of Christian excellence cannot be 
attained except by a few, every Christian can strive to 
reach perfection just as a pilot of a vessel struggles 
amidst the storm to make his destined harbor. 

As a pilot needs a compass to guide him, so does 

U8 



SECOND SERMON. 119 

man need religion. Without this he will inevitably 
suffer spiritual, and very probably physical, shipwreck. 
But the substance and the vitality of the Christian 
religion is contained in these two comprehensive peti- 
tions. Were God to reign in the heart of every human 
creature ; were every human creature to do the will of 
God in all things, — the consummation of Christianity 
would be attained. Yet, if perfection cannot be ac- 
quired, let everyone be as perfect as he can. Though 
God's grace does not completely enrich the soul, it does 
not follow that such a soul is marred by grievous sins. 
On the contrary, it may rejoice in the friendship of God ; 
may make strenuous efforts to become, day by day, 
more of a loving child of its Creator ; and with earnest, 
dutiful, ardent aspirations often pray : Thy kingdom 
come ; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven ! 

Religion is the heavenly "wrought chain which binds 
us to Almighty God ; by means of which divine grace 
is communicated to the soul ; by means of which our 
appeals find an audience in heaven ; by means of which 
the kingdom of God rules in our souls. In early age, 
it beautifies the child ; in youth, it imparts vigor and 
direction ; in middle life, solace, strength, and endur- 
ance ; in the declining evening of old age, constancy, 
gratitude, and hope. It solves the riddle of human ex- 
istence, explains the miseries of man, bestows upon man 
an Eternal Father, glorifies God, and makes human life 
desirable. Without religion society becomes chaotic ; 
nations decay and civilization disappears. La Place 
verifies this by his experience : " I have lived long 
enough," he says, " to know what I did not at one time 
believe— that no society can be upheld in happiness 
and honor without the sentiment of religion." And 
that astute thinker, Edmund Burke, declares that ; 



120 THE lord's PRAYEE. 

" True religion is the foundation of society When that 
is once shaken by contempt, the whole fabric cannot be 
stable or lasting. " 

What does the atheist propose to give us instead of 
the kingdom of God's grace ? What, likewise, do those 
who would teach morality without religion, presume to 
secure for us ? Such destructive doctrine robs man 
of peace, destroys the security of life and property, 
undermines the pillars of state, encourages self- 
destruction, and gives nothing in compensation except 
vain boasting and bottomless theories. Banish the 
respect which honest Christians possess for the will of 
God ; exile God from the human heart, — and man will 
sink into barbarism — civilized barbarism which 
destroys without mercy, while it displays some polish. 
The history of nations demonstrates this truth. When- 
ever a Christian nation has, in its pride and advance- 
ment, ignored God, it was humbled. It was humbled, 
like the king of old, until it acknowledged the suprem- 
acy of heaven. The estrangement of religion from 
the minds of men, and especially from the minds of 
children, is bearing fruit which is poisoning the 
sources whence healthy, enduring society draws its 
sustenance. 

" The white man's burden " of the age is religious 
indifference and moral corruption. The venality of 
statesmen, the dishonesty of public officials, the pros- 
titution of justice, are sufficient to appall the virtuous 
patriot and the righteous Christian. Many parents 
heed not the tendencies of the present generation. 
They are not animated by Christian principles, and 
consequently care not for the religious training of 
their children. The overweening purpose of their 
existence appears to be their material prosperity ; and 



SECOND SEBMON. 121 

the desirable goal for their children is positions of 
profit and influence. They educate their children not 
for God, but for the glorious privilege of being rascals 
without detection, perjurers without punishment, and 
adulterers without shame. They little consider that an 
education without God is destructive of the best 
interests of their children and the virtue and stability 
of the state. The patriot who studies to discover the 
best means of enhancing the public good and trans- 
mitting the noble legacy of a great government to 
posterity, will ever maintain that God should rule in 
the affairs of man, that the kingdom of His grace 
should reign in the soul of everyone, and that the most 
solemn duty of every citizen is to accomplish the will 
of God. 

Were all to adore the Eternal Father of the heavens 
and the earth; were all to hallow His holy name, — then, 
indeed. He would reign in their hearts ; then, indeed, 
His kingdom would have already come. He would 
reign in our souls, bringing the peace of heaven with 
Him. Then our intellects would be illumined by His 
divine presence ; then we would see God more clearly 
in every part of His creation, and man would be nearer 
a brother to his fellow man. Parents would be solici- 
tous to train their children to serve, love, and obey 
God. Statesmen's highest ambition would be to per- 
form their duties in conformity with the will of heaven. 
All would have, as the great motive of their conduct, 
the love and the fear of God. 

Yea, were we to do His will here on earth as the 
blessed do it in heaven, what tranquillity would per- 
meate society ; what security would be obtained for the 
nation ; what grace would embellish our souls ! The 
peace of the angels would be in our hearts, and much 



122 THE lord's prayer. 

of the happiness too. To do His will ! What more 
noble pursuit ; what progress so beneficial ; what aims 
more sublime ! The efforts of great genius should be 
toward perfection, but God is perfection itself. To do 
His will is only a compliance with the rules of perfec- 
tion. It is the fear of God, or rather the love of God ; 
for this delicate fear, this supernatural fear, spjings 
from the heart of love ^ — we fear most to offend Him 
Whom we love most. 

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven ! This 
is a beautiful ejaculation which every Catholic should 
often repeat, to the realization of which every Catholic 
should aspire. Nay, were all to live in conformity 
with His will, dishonesty would cease, immorality 
would be banished from the hearts of men, crime 
would need no jails, drunkenness would necessitate no 
reformation ; joy would prevail in many a family 
where wretchedness now resides ; sorrow, arising from 
misfortune, would be robbed of its rankling shafts ; 
suicide would be unknown ; divorce would be detested ; 
faith, hope, and charity would triumph ! 

Those skeptics who mock at Catholic devotion and 
clamor that God and religion are enemies of progress, 
should beware. Their principles disturb society, break 
down the barriers against vice, directly or indirectly 
nourish corruption, sow the seeds of anarchy, and 
generate revolutions. They fancy they are the leaders 
of scientific thought. Every discovery or invention 
must be attributed to them. Without them there would 
be no progress ; yea, but their progress is retrogression 
and ruin ! It is opposed to advancement, it promotes 
divorce, it plunders the sanctuary of family happiness ! 
By maintaining that morality is born of evolution, that 
man's goodness or wickedness depends entirely upon 



THE lord's prayer. 123 

evolved culture, they strike at the providence of God, 
and attempt the annihilation of eternal principles, with- 
out which the individual, the family, and the nation 
must decay. Such science, if science it can be called, 
breeds excesses. Those excesses generate fumes which 
settle down upon the observatories of the intellect, 
impeding the intellectual vision, enervating mental 
activity, poisoning the fountain sources of massive 
thought and majestic emotion ! 

Let us, my friends, continue to draw our principles 
of morality from the unadulterated springs which eman- 
ate from the throne of God. According to these rules, 
saints have been made, martyrs have died, scholars 
have flourished, and the Church of God has triumphed. 
God's will should be our will. We should labor to 
comply with His eternal decrees ; and, as far as it is pru- 
dent, encourage others to do likewise. To correspond 
to His laws is wisdom, is progress, is peace. In order 
that we may have strength to combat the evil tendencies 
of'our age, let us often say : " Our Father, who art in 
heaven, hallowed be Thy Name, Thy kingdom come, 
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven ! " 



THIRD SERMON. 



Give us this day ojir daily bread. 

My Dear Brethren : On previous occasions we 
considered the first part, as it may be called, of the 
Lord's Prayer. You meditated upon its sublimity, as 
unquestionably you had often done before. You drew 
inspiration from its invocations. You rejoiced that God 
is your Father. This short prayer is a chain of the 
rarest pearls of sublimest thought. It springs from 
the Divinity of God, has its source in the beneficence 
of His Divine Son. Its efficiency is certain, its fruitful- 
ness abundant, its appropriateness unequaled, its 
appeals commendable ; for it was first taught by the 
sacred lips of Jesus ! 

As you have noted, the first part consists of solemn 
emotions of acknowledgment and devotion to the 
Eternal Father. The second part constitutes our humble 
invocations for help, for mercy, and for protection. 
Admirable prayer ! well adapted to our needs. How 
every Catholic soul should ponder upon its contents, 
and exhale the purest incense of gratitude to its Divine 
Author. With what value we should estimate a prayer 
composed and given to us by the God of all wisdom. 
Another memento of His mercy and His love ! 

Let us meditate this morning upon the first entreaty of 
the second part of this celebrated prayer, *' Give us this 
day our daily bread." Give us those things needful for 

134 



THIRD SERMON. 125 

soul and body. Give us health ! Give us energy ! 
Give us Your advice ! Give us bread for our bodies I 
Give us bread for our souls! O Eternal Father ! while 
you give us needed nourishment, ward off from us 
every desire of greed, every propensity to selfishness ! 
Give us the grace to understand ourselves and com- 
passionate others. While we ask for our daily bread, 
we should wish that others may also have their daily 
bread. Thus we would be consistent with our prayer. 
Again, while we entreat : " Our Father, give us this day 
our daily bread," we should neither snatch from others 
their sustenance nor impede them in its legitimate pro- 
curement. Did all attend to this petition and obey its 
teachings, there would not be so much misery. There 
would not be so much avarice or so much petty tyranny ; 
for this beautifully instructive prayer affords a solution 
for many a vexed question. Many repeat it, but not all 
observe its far-reaching propositions. Many hold to 
the false principle, that the weak must submit, though 
they may be angry, were you to tell them of their mal- 
ice. Yes ; might is right for them, though the wailings of 
the helpless and crushed re-echo through the heavens 
and appeal for sustenance and protection. Prosperity 
has infatuated the strong ; and now they forget that 
there is a common Father over the miserable, the for- 
lorn, and the poor, as well as over the powerful. The 
avaricious and the uncharitable pray, if pray at all : " Our 
Father, give me everything. Give nothing to anybody 
else, for there is not enough to go around ! " 

But you, my Christian friends, must observe the tears 
of the sorrowful and heed the cry of the wanting. Pray 
with fervor, and apply every day the great principles 
embodied in the Our Father. Then you will say the 
Lord's Prayer with blessings for yourselves and pity 



126 THE lord's prayer. 

for others. Your broad generosity will embrace the 
needy, and through you God will bestow upon the poor 
and the unfortunate their daily bread. You will eat 
your bread in sweetness ; because you will have joy 
from your charity, and the sighs of the helpless will be 
converted into prayers for your welfare. 

Our Father, Who art in heaven, give us this day our 
daily bread ! What a grand confession of our Catholic 
faith ! What a confiding submission to His bounty ! 
Father of heaven, be our Father ! Give us counsel in 
the affairs of life ; give us a heart to feel for the woes of 
others and a hand to help ; give us enlightenment of 
mind ; give us an ardent desire for You and heaven ; 
give us this day our daily bread ! But some will say : 

" How hard we must toil for our daily bread ! The 
sweat must flow from our brows, the muscles of our 
bodies ache from labor, the head benumbed, and the 
heart sad ; but the reward is small. Our bread is dearly 
bought by the waste of our lives, and still it hardly 
suffices for our little ones." This is true ; and as de- 
plorable and unnecessary as true ; still, the toiler must 
remember a few things in this connection. The rich 
are no happier, though they possess more. 

Fortune her gifts may variously dispose, 

And these be happy called, unhappy those ; 

But Heaven's just balance equal will appear, 

While those are placed in hope and these in fear : 

Not present good or ill, the joy or curse, 

But future views of better or of worse. — (Pope). 

Again, even if the toilers labor, they are mindful, or 
should be mindful, that their arduous tasks procure not 
for them their daily bread. Labor cannot yield it, 
wealth cannot create it ; it must come from God's 
bounteous provisions for man. All the wealth of the 



THIED SERMON. 127 

earth, all the energies thereof cannot make one grain 
of wheat. Our daily bread comes from God, but man, 
of ttimes diverts it from its fair use. The consequences 
are hardship, misery, and want. Did man obey the 
lessons contained in the Lord's Prayer, some would be 
angels ministering God's bountifulness to poverty. A 
few are such angels ; and they wear, even in this life, 
the crown of peace — laurels woven from the prayers and 
benedictions of the assisted. 

It must not be overlooked, that many waste or abuse 
their daily bread. A man will pray in the morning : 
Our Father, give me this day my daily bread ; yet ere 
an hour passes you will see him going into a saloon and 
taking poison instead of his daily bread. He wants God 
to give him the necessaries of life, still he squanders 
what he has. His children and his wife humbly petition 
God for their daily needs, while the father is destroy- 
ing their sustenance and impoverishing his own health. 
His money is spent, his health ruined, his God offended, 
and his position lost ; for who wants a drunkard about 
him. This man's morning prayer is a mockery. He 
misuses the gifts which God gave him. He may clamor 
against wealth and bemoan his sad lot, but no one is 
to be blamed so much as himself. He would not suffer 
want had he been parsimonious with the favors which 
he had obtained. Desolation sits at his fireside, but he 
it was who coaxed her thither. 

Let us now pause a few moments to consider the man 
who sold him the stuff which has effected his ruin. If 
the proprietor is a Catholic, we may presume he says 
his prayers, at least the Lord's Prayer. Now, how can 
he ask God for his daily bread when it must come from 
the devastation of homes and be purchased by the 
tears and imprecations of wretchedness ? He implores 



128 THE lord's prayer. 

God for his own daily bread, but he takes the bread 
from God's little ones. Were he to observe modera- 
tion by not selling to those who had enough, his busi- 
ness would be sufficiently reproachful ; but he stops not 
at moderation. He will take the last crust and then 
regret that there is not more to be taken. He will see 
a father giving him his last dime, and his poor heart 
sorrows because the inebriate has not hundreds to offer 
him. He will tell you perhaps that he did not invite 
him in. This may be true ; still, many do invite such 
in, and have others to assist them in giving the invita- 
tion. He will see a man reeling under the influence of 
drink, yet he refrains not from giving him more, be- 
cause the unfortunate has a few more dollars left. It 
is only now the drunkard is liberal, it is only now he 
will ask all hands to drink. A Catholic who will sell to 
a man intoxicated, is an accomplice in that man's sin. 
The bread gained in this manner will bring him no joy. 
It is not from God. The maledictions of want and 
suffering will fall upon his covetous heart and expel 
all peace. Can God listen to his prayers ? Can he 
say with pure intentions : Our Father, Who art in 
heaven, give me this day my daily bread? Nay ; his 
life is a contradiction to his prayer. At least avoid 
immoderation, avoid gambling of all sorts, avoid dis- 
honesty in every form, if you wish to pray with 
devotion and profit. 

O God of all wisdom ! give us this day our daily 
bread. Give us counsel ; speak to our hearts and direct 
the operations of our judgments ! Inspire us with 
worthy motives ! Give us prudence^ justice, fortitude, 
and temperance ! Illumine our intellects and infuse 
the holy virtue of chastity into our hearts ! Give us 
bread for our bodies and bread for our souls ! But 



THIRD SERMON. 129 

above all and beyond all, give us Yourself in the 
affectionate sacrament of Your love ! 

Pray also for prosperity. There is nothing wropg ii) 
honest prosperity. It may enable you to calm the 
sorrows and wipe away the tears of distress from the 
heart of misery. As long as you say the Our Father 
with earnest devotion, prosperity will be a blessing to 
you and a solace to others. Often ask God for His 
advice. His counsel will be bread to your intellectual 
achievements. You will understand then what is best 
to do and what should be avoided. Ask Him not only 
in your present needs, but entreat Him to counsel you 
in time of doubt and anxiety. Who has not been 
involved in intricate, dismaying troubles and knew not 
what to do ? Beg of God for His aid in those trials 
and all the other trials of life. Do you think it is 
dangerous to rely on the counsels of Almighty God ? 
Do you imagine He will involve you in difficulties and 
then leave you to shift for yourselves ? You do not 
harbor such notions, yet many act as if this were the 
principle of their lives. Have confidence in God ; He 
will not abandon those who centre their hope in 
Him. Being omniscient. He sees your future and can 
make provisions to rescue you from every danger. The 
God Whom you call Father, will not be a treacherous 
enemy to you. He is your Father, and with a father's 
love cares for those confiding in Him. In the hours 
of affliction and mental confusion, He will be bread 
to your physical energies, to your judgment, and to 
your intellectual efforts. 

Permit me now to exhort you to appeal to your 
Heavenly Father for the spirit of prayer, for the love 
of prayer, that you may delight in spiritual contem- 
plation, that you may rejoice in the converse which 



130 THE lord's prayer. 

your soul holds with its Creator. This spirit of prayer, 
this whispering of the soul to God in confidence, 
dissipates all distractions and all lethargy. This spirit 
of prayer is the food of the soul, is the bread of its 
life, is its shield against danger, is the torch of its in- 
vestigations — a communication with heaven, a ray of 
light from the divine brilliancy, a gift from God ! 



FOURTH SERMON. 



Forgive US our trespasses as ive forgive those who 
trespass against its. 

My Dear Friends: Allow me this morning to present 
for your reflection this instructive petition of the 
Lord's Prayer. It reminds us and teaches us of our 
obligation to others in respect to- forgiveness, and our 
expectation of pardon as a reward for our clemency. 
How amply does the Lord's Prayer embrace our wants, 
our dependence on God, our gratitude to Him, and 
our relations to others. In the first part we ac- 
knowledge God ; we praise Him because He is our 
Father and provides for us. Then we cry to Him for 
help, for our daily bread ; and now we ask Him to 
forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who 
trespass against us. Only God could dictate a prayer 
so simple ; yet containing a most sublime act of 
faith, establishing filial relationship with heaven, con- 
stituting the cement of society, and erecting a ladder 
to the home of endless bliss. 

The significance of the present proposition enters 
into our daily lives. Every day we say the Our Father. 
Every day we implore God to forgive us our tres- 
passes as we forgive others who trespass against us. It 
is a fair condition which our Divine Lord puts into 
the prayer. He requires that we pardon the offenses 
committed against us, in order that we may be ab- 
solved by the almighty power of God from our sins 
against the Divine Law. The careful observance of 

m 



132 THE lord's prayer. 

this part of the Lord's Prayer brings harmony out of 
chaos, cultivates charity, promotes beneficence, and 
secures applause in heaven. Reflect well upon the 
lesson it imparts, the fruits it bestows, the condition it 
requires. It may be I am neither able to point out 
all the applications it suggests, nor all the benefits it 
confers ; but in case of such deficiency, you can pon- 
der often upon this beautiful prayer, and every time 
your soul will be enriched with new thoughts and 
your meditations compensated with multiplied bless- 
ings. 

" Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who 
trespass against us." In this petition you declare that 
you desire no concession from God which you are not 
prepared to offer to others ; and, if you do not pardon 
your enemies, you ask for no pardon for yourselves. 
If you do not forgive all others from your heart, you 
declare : " Lord, I will never forgive those who have 
wronged me. If this is the condition which You demand, 
You may retain your indulgence toward me. I want it 
not. I prefer to suffer in hell than pardon my enemies." 
Such contempt for God's enactments and mercy may 
shock you ; still, how many a Catholic has knelt in 
prayer, and recited the Our Father, while the spirit of 
revenge rankled in his heart ! Did he think of what 
he was saying ? Did he mean to insult God ? Did 
he expect mercy while hate festered in his own soul ? 
He forgot, perhaps, the admonition of his Redeemer in 
the Gospel of St. Matthew (v. — 23 and 24) : ** If thou 
offer est thy gift at the altar, and there shalt remember that 
thy brother hath anything against thee ; leave there thy gift 
before the altar, a^id first go to be recoriciled to thy brother ; 
and then come and offer thy gift .*' When you hate your 
neighbor, do not neglect to meditate upon the condition 



FOURTH SERMON. 133 

for pardon inserted in the Lord's Prayer by your Divine 
Saviour. You will be persuaded, by the aid of grace, to 
confess that Jesus would not exact your compliance to 
this condition, were it not for your own good and 
the welfare of society. Ah ! how much happier would 
everyone be, were all to pray the Our Father daily 
and obey its teachings. What peace on earth ! What 
justice, what charity would prevail ! These vexations 
harrowing the heart, these demons of revenge impelling 
to resentment, would be expelled from the soul ! 

But you reply : " How can I forgive such a person ? 
She has slandered my reputation. On every available 
occasion she has calumniated me. Her vile tongue 
knew no cessation when I was the object of her wrath. 
I never injured her, nor can I understand what has dis- 
turbed the lying devil within her. She may mourn over 
my good fortune or lament her own failures. I know 
not ; but, as sure as God hears me, I never wronged 
her, nor even attempted to injure her. She has tar- 
nished my reputation, which is dearer to me than life. 
She has caused enmities and jealousies to flourish where 
nothing but peace and joy once reigned. I hate her ; 
I recoil from her as I would from the slimy serpent 
whose bite is death ! " It is sad that any Catholic would 
provoke another to such a degree and to the utterance 
of such language. It cannot be denied but that some 
people suffer intensely from the malice of others ; still, 
what is gained by affording a harbor to all these malici- 
ous things which are said about you ? Why give them 
shelter ? They devour you ? Why not banish them ? 
Or, it you cannot expel their memories, why not silence 
their clamorings, thereby crushing out their malignity ? 
Why fret the wounds your enemy has caused ? Why 
assist her in her hellish designs against you ? Why not 



134: THE lord's prayer. 

kneel before your God and pray : Forgive me my tres- 
passes as I forgive all who trespass against me I O 
Eternal Father, I offer You my anguish in atonement 
for all my ingratitude toward You ! I rejoice I can 
make some reparation to You for all my unworthiness ! 
I forgive and seek forgiveness. Ah, such a prayer from 
a bleeding heart would rob every shaft of its poison. 
The enemy's strength would be wasted and no perma- 
nent wound inflicted. Moreover, a vile, defaming tongue 
can do no lasting injury. Everyone soon learns of its 
fangs. Its attacks fall as harmlessly as marbles thrown 
against armor-plate. Its owner is quickly despised. 
The poor, miserable creature is poisoned by the venom 
she would inject into the lives of others. She bites her- 
self, and socially dies. 

Another avows he cannot condone the villainy 
perpetrated upon him. You reason with him and he 
becomes enraged against his enemy. He breaks forth in 
heated argument : " How can I forgive the villain who 
had no pity for me ? He drove me almost mad ! He 
robbed me of my lucrative position ! He involved me in 
legal contests ; and caring not for the sacredness of tes- 
timony, he perjured himself, ruining and disgracing me ! 

Though innocent, I was declared guilty ! The eye of 
everyone was upon me ! Outrage was added to the 
sentence of guilt ! Injustice and outrage made an 
alliance with adversity against me ! And now you ask 
me to pardon such a monster ! No ; rather burn in hell 
than do so ! I will have revenge ! " Now, though this 
may appear an aggravated case, still I believe that some 
are tortured more by their enemies than my words, 
or in fact any words, can describe ; for what must be 
the anguish and excitement of that person who seeks 
redress, only to have new outrages heaped upon him. 



FOURTH SERMON. 135 

But now let us calmly consider his condition. If he 
continues in this feverish state he will destroy his health. 
In the end, it he strike for revenge, he may implicate 
himself deeply. Consequently he will give his enemies 
another advantage over him. He will simply conspire 
to injure himself most grievously ; and should he win 
revenge, he may find it is dearly bought. He ought to 
pause and weigh well the words of his Divine Friend 
and Father : "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive 
others." Jesus did not give us this prayer without a 
purpose. He intended it for our benefit. It was to 
cover every case and be a solution for every wrong. 
The " Old God " still lives and will not abandon or for- 
get those confiding in Him. '' Reveiige is Mine, saycth 
the Lord,''^ and He will certainly avenge the appeals 
of all who cry to Him in distress. He may appear 
slow to the hasty, but we should not sit in judg- 
ment upon His decrees. Do not act as though you 
believed not in God. With all the confidence of your 
soul, place your trust in Him ; and, if your enemies have 
triumphed unjustly over you, remember the " Old God " 
still lives and that, 

" To err is human, to forgive, divine." 

The person smarting under the unrelenting lash of his 
enemy, must not forget that he has often offended God. 
The wrongs he endures are incomparably insignificant 
to the insults with which he abuses or attempts to abuse 
his Creator. Probably he has not been a close observer 
of the precept of charity in his relation to others. 
Can he not now forgive, if the infinite clemency of 
Almighty God condescends to forgive him ? Cannot 
a servant forgive his fellow servant, when the immense 
Majesty of heaven pardons the transgression of a weak, 
frail child of earth ? God is the Father of all. If a 



136 THE loed's prayer. 

sparrow falls not to the ground without His knowledge, 
will He be unmindful of His children trusting in 
Him for deliverance ? It is best, therefore, to leave the 
adjustment of all differences and persecutions to Him 
Who knows the heart and is best capable of judging. 

Let us endeavor to illustrate by an example. Suppos- 
ing an overseer has a number of men under his charge, 
and that he knows everything which everyone of his 
men does. If one offend the other, he does not want 
the offended person to retaliate ; but says he will 
punish in justice. Now, it is quite evident that should 
one of his men attempt to resent an injury done him or 
an insult offered him, this man would violate the 
regulations of the overseer, produce discord, spurn 
discipline, and probably procure for himself the dis- 
pleasure of the overseer. It may be that he would be 
punished for his rashness. Would it not be more 
judicious to allow the overseer to administer justice ? 
Would it not be more profitable to be patient, and by 
patience show his confidence in the vigilance and 
justice of his master. The employee cannot lose 
anything by patience : for he knows the overseer Is 
coo-nizant of every act which transpires, and he knows, 
too, that the overseer is just. But if he attempt to take 
revenge he may forfeit the friendship and protection of 
his master. It may be also that he would fail in the 
attempt. In this case the overseer may not rescue him 
from his antagonist, but teach him his Injudiciousness 
by leaving him to the rage of his enemy. Now, God 
is the Eternal Overseer, and do you not agree with me 
that it is both prudent and wise for us to surrender our 
grievances to Him ? 

But, you may say, " It is hard to forget." In fact, you 
cannot forget. As long as your memory remains active, 



FOURTH SERMON. 137 

you cannot relinquish the records therein contained. 
You will remember and must remember. Your remem- 
brance of wrong, however, should only be a guide to 
you, by which you should prevent your enemy from 
again taking advantage of you. Protect yourselves as 
best you can ; and you will be able to accomplish this the 
most effectually when the mantle of God's protection 
is around you. Pardon others, for you have much to 
be pardoned by your Eternal Father. Forgive every- 
one from your heart. Forgiveness is a noble Christian 
act, — an act which recognizes the supremacy of God ; 
an act which shows confidence in His justice ; an act 
which has reliance upon His providence. Injuries 
inflicted upon you entwine a crown of thorns around 
the heart ; but forgiveness brings forth from every 
thorn a rose which exhales the fragrance of divine 
grace. 



FIFTH SERMON 



Lead jcs not into temptation^ but deliver its from evil. 

My Dear Friends : The sirens ot old allured seamen 
by their song. In dangerous places along the coast, 
their bewitching voices were heard, tempting the mari- 
ner to destruction. So charming and sweet were their 
allurements, that the sailor heeded not the peril until 
he was engulfed by the stormy waters or his vessel 
dashed to pieces upon the rocks. Ancient story speaks 
to us of the shipwrecks caused by these nymphs, and 
the deplorable loss of life occasioned by their fascina- 
ting blandishments. Still, while the siren of old is 
only an imaginary creation, and the story of their 
crime only a fable, the nymph suggests the sirens of 
modern times. Those of our age are a reality, temp- 
ting man, and woman, too, from the safe course of 
Christian life into the whirlpools of temptations and 
dashing them against the rocks of sin. Sometimes 
these sirens do not possess the charms or the music 
ascribed to the nymphs of ancient days. Some of them 
are hideous ; yet by some fatality of deception, they 
entice man into ruin. In ancient times, only seamen 
were supposed to fall under the spell of the siren ; in 
our day, few escape the insidious snares of her modern 
reality. Thus you see how aptly and propitiously our 
Divine Saviour embraces in His prayer a petition that 
God may spare us from the sirens of temptation. 

We ought not say that God leads anyone into temp- 



FIFTH SERMON. 139 

tation. It is contrary to His justice and His mercy 
to induce into sin. St. James says (i. — 13): " Godcan- 
not be tempted of evil, neither tempt He any man'' He 
allows you to be tempted at times ; and He even tries 
very good people, thereby making them more perfect : 
*' For the Lord your God trieth you, that it may appear 
■whether you love Him zvith all your heart and zvith all your 
soul. " (Deut. xiii. — 3.) He permits temptations as he 
permitted Satan to tempt the saintly Job. But while He 
tolerates His servants to be harassed by temptation, 
He does not abandon them to its destroying power. 
No person relying upon His protection, is tried beyond 
his endurance. When the tempter is about to triumph, 
the angels of God come to the relief of the tempted one. 
In this manner merit is increased and multiplied. In- 
deed, were man never tempted, His merit would be insig- 
nificant, and he would deserve no reward, because he had 
no struggle or no trial. Great merit and great virtue are 
the bays of victorious conflicts. It is the resistance he 
makes against the attacks of the enemy ; it is his efforts 
to obey the mandates of heaven ; it is his loyalty to God, 
— which crown him with the merits of a Christian hero. 
The more he is tempted and conquers, the more his 
merits are in the kingdom of God. " Take all that 
shall be broitght upon thee : and in thy sorrow eiidure, 
ami in thy humiliation keep patience. For gold and 
silver are tried in the fire, but acceptable meri in the 
furnace of tribulatio7i.'' (Eccli. ii. — 4-5.) We should 
pray, nevertheless, that we be not submerged by tempta- 
tion ; that when we are faint from resistance, when 
our courage is failing, God may cast around us the 
armor of His grace and sustain us from every tendenc)' 
to fall. 

Owing to the degeneracy of so^ie, an observer may 



140 THE LOKD's prayer. 

fancy that God leads some into the quagmires of 
destruction ; or that they were conducted irresistibly 
by some supernatural power into sinful snares. There 
are, to be sure, many strange moral phenomena which 
baffle the observer. But it is certain, nevertheless, 
that God leads no person into sinful ruin. It is equally 
certain that He will not permit those trusting in Him 
to be overwhelmed by temptation. What God does do, 
is to withdraw His graces from those who abuse them ; 
or rather, the sinner himself drives those graces from 
his soul. The result is that he falls ; and falling 
repeatedly, he becomes a piteous spectacle for men 
and angels, and an object of study to the inquiring 
mind. As well might you say that an unsupported 
body yields not to the force of gravitation and falls not, 
as argue that a soul unsustained by divine grace can 
avoid being subdued by temptation. Divine grace is as 
necessary for spiritual health as food is for the health 
of the body. A person who discards God, who is so 
very complacent in his own powers, who is so com- 
pletely anchored in his own conceits, that he is above 
asking for divine aid, is a person whom an observer 
may, after a time, consider mad or under some fatal 
spell. The ancients noted this phenomenon ; and 
referring to it, declared : "Whom the gods wish to 
destroy, they first make mad." 

In our age we see many who are mad. They arc 
allured by the sirens of modern society. Some prosper. 
From poverty they spring into wealth. They are 
inflated by their success, and in their infatuation of 
themselves, they become as haughty as Lucifer. They 
forget God ! They are mad ! They are allured on- 
ward until they are dashed upon the promontories of 
spiritual ruin ; nor do they always escape temporal mis- 



FIFTH SERMON. 141 

fortune. Their madness conjures up misery in some 
form or another. 

Others are charmed by the sirens of their own im- 
agination. They have met some intellectual success, 
and they fanc)' they have entered a calm sea of illus- 
trious renown. They are independent investigators, 
and the telescopes and microscopes of knowledge. 
They imagine they have drunk the sources of all sci- 
ences and all wisdom dry. They have annulled religion, 
and having searched the heavens, they found no God. 
They are mad ! Their rashness drives them to destruc- 
tion ! The spectre which enchants them will be their 
ruin ! 

You have no doubt noticed many a youth who, as 
years rolled on, became indifferent, gradually severing 
the moorings of divine grace. The siren of impurity 
allured him. He listened to her decoying words ; and 
as he listened, he neglected the great Sacrifice of the 
Mass. He abandoned prayer also. Soon he was en- 
gulfed by the storms of sensual passion. Ere long bad 
companions became his associates. He became mad. 
Mad in breaking away from God ! Mad in casting away 
the angelic restraints of chastity ! Mad in destroying 
his honorable reputation ! Mad in pillaging his own 
soul and robbing his parents of the joy which parents 
have in the filial piety of their children. 

We could speak of the madness of intemperance — a 
siren as heinous as she is destructive. We could speak 
of the madness of dishonesty, which is so common 
amidst our boasted civilization ; of the madness which 
fills our jails and penitentiaries ; of the madness which 
drives individuals and nations into disaster ; but who 
will attribute this madness to Almighty God ? Who 
will say that the author of all perfection is the cause 



142 THE lord's prayer. 

of imperfection and crime r The absence of God's 
grace is the cause, and the cause of that absence I have 
already intimated. Lead us not then, O Divine Saviour, 
into temptation ! Withdraw not your sustaining power ! 
Though we fall, remember us for whom you died ! 

The last petition in the Lord's Prayer is : Deliver 
us from evil. From every evil, we pray ; from the evil 
of sickness, from the evil of contention, from the evil 
of misfortune, from the terrible evil of rejecting God's 
grace, from every evil of soul and body. While the 
evil of sin is not from God, the evil of punishment on 
account of sin is from God. He says in the Book of 
Deuteronomy ( xxxii. — 23 ) : " I will heap evils upon them 
and will spe?id my arrows amo?ig them'' Almighty 
God had showered His favors upon the Israelites ; 
but with rebellious importunities they gave expres- 
sion to their icy ingratitude. Hence He punished 
them by heaping evil upon them. The holy prophet 
Jeremias was directed to predict evil : " Wherefore, 
tlms saith the Lord: ' BeJwld I will bring in evils 7ipon 
them which they shall not be able to escape, a?id they 
shall cry to Me, but I will not hearken to them. ' " From 
these passages of Sacred Scripture you learn that 
God is the avenger of sin ; that when w^e persistently 
transgress the divine law, He will send evil upon us, 
and in our distress He will not heed our cry for help. 
Our reckless behavior toward Him will enkindle His 
wrath. He will not be mocked, but will deal severely 
with the bold offender. 

You may remark : " How strange it is that God does 
not punish many whom you know to have violated in- 
cessantly God's law." Let me reply, you do not know 
what these sinners suffer. They may not be victims of 
exterior sufferings, yet who can measure the interior 



FIFPH SERMON. 143 

agony ? Besides, God is not limited to this earth. If 
He punish not here, in eternity He will chastise. He 
still rules the universe, and His means of punishment are 
not abridged by any wickedness of the transgressor. 
Even if He permit some to thrive to the harvest time, 
He will in that day inflict punishment commensurate 
to the sins committed. There is no escaping His jus- 
tice : ^' Behold y I will bring in evil upon them which they 
shall not be able to escape!' 

Some may urge upon our attention : " Why, we have 
from our childhood been faithful to God. We have 
prayed. We have turned aside from many of the 
pleasures and emoluments of life, rather than to offend 
God. We have endured with patience the rebuffs of 
ill fortune ; yet, notwithstanding our fidelity, our 
troubles multiply." Now, you must not consider that 
all the sorrows of life are evils. They may have the 
face of evil, but they are blessings in disguise. How 
many Catholics are restrained within the realms of God's 
love by trouble. Had they not suffered, their end 
might be miserable. By sorrow they increased in favor 
with God. By obstacles they were made as oaks to 
withstand other storms, and grew in mental and spirit- 
ual perfection at every blast. Job was a righteous man. 
So were many others whom history honors for fidelity to 
God and charity to man, though an apparently igno- 
minious death was the reward of their sterling qualities. 
In all these troubles God was kindly delivering them 
from evil. 

How useful as well as instructive is this closing 
petition of the Our Father : Deliver us from evil, O 
Eternal Father ! Send Your Holy Spirit to illumine our 
misty intellects and stimulate our drowsy wills ! Grant 
that we may always correspond to Your graces. This, 



144 



THE LORD S PRAYER. 



my dear friends, is very important. If we reject God's 
grace, evil will not only come upon us, but also we will 
not be capable of bearing good fruit. A dead tree an- 
swers not to the influence of spring. The sap cannot 
ascend to nourish the boughs. No beautiful foliage 
bedecks the limbs. The tree is dead, though all other 
vegetation smiles in its beauty and charms the heart of 
man. The soul which is in mortal sin is similiar to the 
dead tree. It responds not to the influence of heavenly 
grace. The heart blossoms not with the flowers of 
pure, gentle, God-adoring emotion. There is no lux- 
uriance of virtue, there is no animating peace ; nor does 
it awaken in the hearts of others anything but pity and 
disgust. Evil is upon it — the evil of spiritual death. 

Let us then constantly importune the throne of the 
Most High for freedom from sinful evil. Grant, O 
Lord, that we may never sink into those depths of 
despair which compelled the great Lucifer to cry out : 

" Farewell, hope ! and with hope, farewell, fear ! 
Farewell, remorse ! All good in me is lost ! '' — (Milton.) 

In the time of harassing and violent temptation, 
in the time when we are besieged by evil, mayest 
Thou, O Eternal Father, send thy angels to protect us ! 
Mayest Thou ever deliver us from evil. Amen. 



SERMONS ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN. - 
FIRST SERMON. 



Hail Mary, full of grace. 
Feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin. 

My Dear Friends : To-day is the feast of the Ma- 
ternity of the Mother of Jesus, and the second Sunday 
of October — a month dedicated to the honor of the 
Holy Rosary. In affectionate veneration of Mary, 
October is another May. When spring caresses the 
hills and dales, her smiles producing new life and 
giving renev\'ed strength to old life, then it is that May 
awakens devout aspirations and loving remembrances 
of the Queen of Heaven. But when the summer is 
passed with its sunshine and its joys ; when the sky 
becomes fretful and angry ; when the falling leaves and 
the dying vegetation speak of death to the heart, — then 
comes October bearing Mary's rosary. Thus May and 
October teach us that our lives should begin and end 
with a fond attachment to the Mother of God, and that 
we should often say : " Hail Mary, full of grace, the 
Lord is with thee ! " 

Do you say the Hail Mary w^ith the same devotion 
you did years ago ? Are your hearts now as great 
centres for Mary's veneration and Mary's love as they 
were in early life ? If years have dissipated devotion 
and chilled the heart's love for Mary, they have done 
more than this. They have planted sin in the home of 
devotion, and misery w^here love for Mary blossomed. 

145 



146 SERMONS ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

A child of Mary is liappy in the peacefulness of a spot- 
less conscience. Every Hail Maiy draws the soul 
nearer its God. In every Hail Mary is found relief for 
every sorrow and courage for every disappointment. 
Years ago there was no distraction when reciting the 
rosary. The heart was infused with holy recollection. 
The soul rose to God in pious emotion. Every Hail 
Mary was an angel bearing to the throne of heaven the 
pure offering of a sinless soul. The heart expanded 
under this influence of piety, until you saw, or seemed 
to see, the image of Mary with her Divine Infant in her 
arms. Approvingly she smiled upon you, while the 
Divine Child imparted His .benediction, thereby filling 
your souls with inexpressible joy. In thought you 
kissed the hem of her garments, while you begged her 
to be ever your friend. You wore in your heart a gar- 
land of roses, and every rose was a Hail Mary, and 
every Hail Mary, a tribute of love ! In spirit you laid 
your garland at the feet of Jesus, imploring Him for 
friendship, and for peace, and for a happy death ! Do 
you act so now ? Have the mysteries of the Rosary the 
same stimulus, the same aspirations for you now that 
they had in bygone years ? Assuredly, for many of you, 
the mysteries still have the same influence. They still 
teach you, they still enlist your meditations and crown 
you with priceless reward. How sad it is to know that 
some have not the same fervor ; that now they do not 
say, " Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee," 
with devotion or with love for the Queen of Angels. 
Nay, more ; some do not say the Hail Mary at all. 
The heart which once loved Mary, which was once the 
receptacle of grace, which was once the companion of 
angels, is now made barren and sterile by the searing 
blight of sin 



FIRST SERMON. 147 

The rosary is a chain ot Hail Marys binding you to 
the throne of God and linking you with other days. It 
leads you back to childhood, recalls the one who first 
taught you to say " Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord 
is with thee," and invokes from the dead past, memories 
which cannot die, — memories endeared to you by 
fondest associations. Then you said the rosary with 
affectionate devotion. Every Hail Mary, every rose in 
each decade, exhaling a spiritual perfume which filled 
your souls and rose as purest incense to Almighty God. 
You were drawn closer and closer to Jesus by each Hail 
Mary, until He lived in your hearts and blessed you 
with His divine presence. In those days how inno- 
cent the soul, how prayerful the heart, how pure the 
aspirations ! The Blessed Virgin was then your mother. 
You felt you were her children. If temptations have 
triumphed since then, if sin has expelled innocence, if 
foul language has defiled the lips which gave praise to 
Jesus and Mary and Joseph, if the aspirations are now 
toward hell instead of toward heaven, the rosary still 
holds you or strives to hold you by the recollections of 
days now dead ! It is difficult to break this chain. 
When you think every link is broken, you still find it 
strong and influential with you, as if the Mother of 
Jesus did not wish to relinquish you to your enemies ; 
as if she remembered the time when you knelt in prayer, 
asking her to be your mother ; as if she were loath to 
part with those who once loved her and loved her God. 
No ; you cannot break its influence, though you distort 
every link and wither every rose. Mary loves you still 
and prays for your conversion. 

In Venice there is a painting from the genius of 
Titian. It represents the coronation of the Blessed 
Virgin. I gazed upon its beauties for a long time. It is 



148 SERMONS ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

a masterpiece of almost divine creation. While 
admiring it, I thought of the painter. I thought how 
sublime and pure must have been his love for the Queen 
of Angels. How often he must have said : " Hail Mary, 
full of grace, the Lord is with thee ! " How his soul 
must have been inflamed with love for Mary ! How pure 
that soul which could create such an exalted ideal ! 
There was no sin there to blur his genius, nor blemish 
the pure vision of his great soul. He must have said 
Hail Marys all day long, so grand is the tribute of his 
great soul. It is a prayer, a sublime prayer in itself ! 
While gazing upon it, you forget you are still imprisoned 
in the flesh, and feel that you are in heaven. Let Cath- 
olics look upon that painted prayer ! I care not how far 
he has strayed from Mary, he will experience that she 
has still influence over him, and he will part from the 
painting with a Hail Mary on his lips. But it is not only 
Titian and Raphael and Michael Angelo who have 
honored Mary with the fruits of their talents and 
genius ; the student and the scholar, the painter and 
the sculptor, the saint and the sinner, in every 
land, have often said : " Hail Mary, full of grace, the 
Lord is with thee!" Mary's grace still finds a responsive 
chord in the heart of every Catholic. It might be that 
all have not the same love for her. Sin might have 
silenced that love, or the rivalries of temporal affairs 
might have submerged the pious enthusiasm of early 
life, yet there are very few Catholics who do not carry 
her image, and the image of her Divine Son, down deeo 
in their hearts. 

The saint particularly understood the greatness of 
the Mother of God. In his contemplations he perceived 
the glories of Mary. His soul was filled with a holy 
veneration for her. In the purity of his soul he could 



fIRST SERMON. 149 

appreciate better than others, the grandeur of that Queen 
who is enriched in such an extraordinary manner by 
her Eternal Father. Living so intimately with God, 
holding incessant converse with Him, his soul glowed 
under the enriching efificacy of divine grace and was 
consequently more capable of estimating the gentle- 
ness and humility and friendship of Mary. In spirit he 
saw her kneeling at the manger of Bethlehem, and ex- 
claimed in the fulness of his heart : " Hail Mary, full 
of grace, the Lord is with thee ! " Yea, the Lord was 
surely with her. She fondled Him to sleep, she carried 
Him in her arms, she nursed Him at her bosom. 
Truly the Lord was with her, and His presence illumin- 
ated her soul with the rays of His divinity. The saint 
knew all this, and in his meditations his heart was sub- 
dued into the most fervent reverence, and the emotions 
which heaved his bosom could find no expression in the 
human voice. Mary was near. He believed she was his 
friend, and with Mary's friendship he knew that Jesus 
was united. 

Nor is the saint the only one to derive consolation 
and hope from Mary's prayers. The sinner with a heart 
burdened with affliction, has raised his sin-tortured soul 
to her in supplication, and she repelled him not. Mercy 
is her Son's great attribute, and certainly she loves those 
who come to Him with sorrowing hearts. What has 
touched the sinner's heart ? What has made him pause ? 
What has given him resolution to go once more to con- 
fession ? Ah, it was a thought of other days ! A 
thought of the time when he said the rosary, of the time 
when his soul loved the good, when peace reigned in 
his heart and angels were his companions ! He again 
takes up the rosary. He finds a friend in every bead, 
and every bead tells him of Mary ; and Mary, the 



150 SERMONS ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

Mother of Jesus, whispers solace to his aching heart. 
He looks upon his fingers which told the beads so often 
in the morning of his life. They were pure then. 
They were not sullied by the contamination of vice. 
His innocent fingers had counted the pure beads, and 
he thinks of the joys with which every Hail Mary was 
blessed. He learns that they are still his friends and 
that they again lead him to Jesus and Mary. No ; the 
chain cannot be broken. There is a memory attached 
to every bead. There are joys and tears associated with 
every one, and Mary knows them all. She assists her 
Divine Son in searching for the lost sheep who was 
once her child and the child of God. It appears almost 
impossible for anyone who devoutly recited the rosary 
in childhood to be lost forever. There are too many 
happy memories connected therewith, and these mem- 
ories cannot be effaced. 

In this age of boasted culture, there is no civilizing 
agent more successful than the rosary of the Blessed 
Virgin. In the rosary there is true culture. Other 
religious agents may be laboring hard to promote the 
spiritual interests of the human race ; but there is none 
so efficacious as the garland of Mary. This embraces 
the great mysteries of Christian faith, and every mys- 
tery is sustained by prayer and meditation. Herein is 
Christian education. Christian training, Christian cul- 
ture! Herein is contained the doctrine of Christ's birth, 
love, death, and resurrection ; of Mary's part in the 
economy of Christian salvation ; and the teaching, sancti- 
fying, and confirming power of the Holy Ghost. What 
an aid, therefore, is not the rosary in the work of civiliza- 
tion ! The past and the present demonstrate this. In 
lands far distant from Europe or America, you hear of 
the inhabitants being semi-barbarous ; but you also learn 



1 



FIRST SERMON. 151 

from persons who have studied their habits and visited 
these countries, that the inhabitants are courteous, obe- 
dient, honest, and chaste, and that no people are more 
so. What has trained them ? Where did they acquire 
all the characteristics which are the elements of true 
civilization ? They found them in the rosary of the 
Blessed Virgin. It was this devotion which trained 
them. It was this devotion which imparted an educa- 
tion without which no civilization can exisit. This 
devotion converted the barbarous disposition into the 
manners of a true Christian. It could not be otherwise ; 
for the rosary contains all the factors requisite for the 
promotion and sustenance of the highest forms of civil- 
ization. The Hail Mary will convert the savage into a 
docile child of Christianity. It has accomplished this 
feat ; it has accomplished more than the rapid-fire gun, 
more than all the cruelty inflicted by all the modern 
implements of war. Since the rosary embraces so many 
mysteries, and these mysteries embody all the chief 
principles of Christianity ; and since true civilization 
cannot be maintained except while ft draws its life- 
sustaining nourishment from Christianity, therefore the 
rosary is the greatest agent in extending and perpet- 
uating Christianity, and as a consequence, of maintaining 
and advancing civilization. 

Were the despot to say the rosary with earnest devo- 
tion, he would be subdued by its influence and moulded 
into a liberal, broad-souled man. He could not say so 
many Hail Marys without reflecting upon the gentle- 
ness of the Mother of God and the humility and 
patience of her Divine Son. These influences would 
restrain his tyranny, would culture his heart with the 
calming doctrines of Christianity, would elevate his 
manners, would render him a docile child of Mary and 



152 SERMONS ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

a friend of the human race. On the other hand, the 
subject would not be rebellious, were he to avail him- 
self of the same devotion. He would be temperate in 
his demands and forbearing in his relations to govern- 
ment. He would take a broad view of things and make 
allowance for human defects. Hence, ruler and subject 
would live more amiably together, were both to em- 
ploy the rosary as a means of knowing God's will and 
performing the civilizing principles therein contained 
or suggested. 

Capital and Labor would also be harmonized by the 
same docilizing process. Capital would respect Labor, 
and Labor, Capital. The employer who devoutly says 
the rosary must necessarily be influenced by its sweet, 
mild culture. He would ponder upon the value of 
a human soul. His regard for every human creature 
would be enlarged by contemplating the estimate with 
which Jesus valued every human soul, and the rosary 
would impart to him some knowledge of that estimate. 
He would, consequently, be moderate in his regulations 
and just in his compensation to the toiler. The latter, 
in turn, educated by the rosary, could not forget his 
duties and his obligations to his employer. He could 
not be reckless in the performance of his labor, nor 
excessive or unreasonable in his demands. Both would 
respect each other. Both would see that above them 
is Another Who judges their conduct and deals with 
them accordingly. Beyond the temporal things of 
life, they would discern an abode of endless reward. 
Their ambition would be to realize this reward ; and, 
therefore, they would not injure each other, but live 
as friends and children of Mary. 

Then, say often the Hail Mary, and say the rosary 
whenever you have the opportunity. Its benign influ- 



FIRST SERMON. 153 

ence will give culture to the heart, vigor to the intellect, 
and good will to all. And when life troubles will have 
closed, may the Queen of Heaven crown you with a 
garland of bliss woven from the Hail Marys said by you 
on earth ! 



SECOND SERMON. 



Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and 
at the hour of our death. 

My Dear Friends : In this beautiful springtime the 
heart beats light and the soul is filled with admiration 
for the beauties of nature. The aged feel young again, 
and the young heart bounds with the joy of its sur- 
roundings. In the midst of these beauties and glories of 
this delightful season, the soul of every Catholic praises 
God and admires the grandeur of His works in the 
material universe. This being the month of May, your 
devotion, ardent at all times, rises now, instinctively 
as well as rationally, to the Mother of Jesus. This 
beautiful month draws you closer to her, and you love 
in May to kneel before her statue and pray : " Holy 
Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at 
the hour of our death ! " 

This devout supplication was composed many cen- 
turies ago by the Church of God, and was said and is 
said by millions of Catholics. If you except the Lord's 
Prayer, there is no other so beautiful and so sacred as 
the Hail Mary. The Angel Gabriel, voicing the will of 
Heaven, declared the first part : *' Hail ! full of grace, 
the Lord is with thee ; blessed art thou among women." 
How important was this salutation to the human race ! 
What vast interests were herein involved ! How 
Heaven must have stood amazed when the import of 

154 



SECOND SEKMON. 155 

this announcement was revealed — the Son of God to 
become man ! The second part was made by St. 
Elizabeth. When the Blessed Virgin visited her she 
was overcome by the presence of the Mother of God 
and exclaimed : " Blessed art thou among women, 
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb ! " St. Elizabeth 
thus repeats a portion of the angel's salutation, and 
adds : " Blessed is the fruit of thy womb." The 
Church, as we have already intimated, proclaimed the 
third or last part of this edifying, instructive, sacred 
prayer. Now, what composition, what prayer, except 
the Lord's Prayer, ever had such exalted authors as 
the Hail Mary ? The Archangel bearing the mandate 
of Heaven proclaims the first part ; St. Elizabeth filled 
with the Holy Ghost gives utterance to the second part ; 
and the Catholic Church, the voice of God speaking 
to the human race, composes the third part. How 
efficacious must this prayer be, which had such sublime 
authors ! How fruitful in obtaining graces from 
Almighty God. What a perpetual history of the Incar- 
nation and the devotion to Jesus and Mary in every 
age ! 

Let us consider, on this beautitul Sunday morning in 
May, the last part of the Hail Mary. Before entering 
into such a consideration, I cannot do better than 
quote a few lines from one of Italy's greatest poets : 

" Beautiful Virgin ! clothed with the sun, 
Cro\vned"with the stars — 
Love pricks me on to utter speech of thee ; 
But feeble to commence without thy aid." — (Petrarch.) 

What a beautiful poetical expression ! How it 
speaks the devotion of a poet in an age of faith ! AIL 
this great poem is a sublime prayer to the Queen of 
Angels ; and I shall, therefore, make use of it during 



156 SERMONS ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

this sermon. Some may object to the employment of 
secular thought in sacred discourse ; but to me, it 
appears that the noblest thoughts entwined in language 
spring from noblest souls ; and, though some such 
souls were not specially consecrated to God, they never- 
theless had the spark of the Divinity within them, and 
that nobility and power of soul to speak the loftiest 
thought. It cannot be wrong, then, to employ the 
sublime sentiment of genius to praise God, who gave 
such gifted souls to human creatures. Both Protestant 
and secular Catholic writers have paid the tribute of 
their richly endowed minds to the Blessed Virgin, 
Mother of Jesus ; and just as we cull the beautiful 
flowers of the field to decorate her altar, so we cull the 
sublimest thoughts to wreath her sacred brow with the 
praises of men. 

The Church says in addressing her : " Holy Mary, 
Mother of God " ; and never was so sublime an expres- 
sion used in addressing any other creature ; and no 
human mind can grasp its full significance. It is only 
God Himself who understands what that implies. It 
was He who first declared to the powers of heaven her 
holiness and sanctity. She is holy because Almighty 
God declared from the throne of heaven that she was 
to be the Mother of His Eternal Son ; she is holy 
because she is the Mother of that Son ; she is holy in 
her immaculate conception ; she is holy in her humil- 
ity, her meekness, her poverty ; she is holy in all those 
elevating virtues with which the Eternal Father adorned 
and enriched her as the receptacle of His Incarnate 
Son ! She is holy, and saints and sages, angels and 
archangels, and countless millions of Christians, have 
accepted the proclamation of Almighty God and echoed 
^nd re-echoed the praises of her sanctity. 



SECOND SERMON. 157 

" Virgin ! of all unparalleled, alone, 
Who with thy beauties hast enamored heaven, 
Whose like has never been nor e'er shall be ; 
For holy thoughts with Christ and pious acts 
To the true God a sacred living shrine 
In thy fecund virginity have made." — (Petrarch.) 

Truly she is alone and unparalleled. Angels must 
have stood in amazement when beholding the virtuous 
ornaments of her pure soul. With what wealth of 
grace and perfection did not infinite resources em- 
bellish that Mother who can call her son God ! 
During this beautiful month every Catholic should 
erect in his heart a shrine to Mary ; and the purest, 
the most delicate, and the most affectionate emotions 
of this living temple, should be incense hallowing that 
shrine. Devout, enrapturing thoughts of praise, grati- 
tude, and supplication should supply the lamp burning 
before the shrine in that sanctuary. 

My Christian friends, Mary's power was foretold 
by Almighty God in the morning of creation. In the 
early dawn of that morning, Satan planned the down- 
fall of the human race ; and when human perfection 
animated the Garden of Paradise, he succeeded in 
executing his plans. Our first parents fell, and God 
was angry at their fall ; but Satan was not to triumph ; 
a Redeemer was promised, and a future woman was to 
crush the power of Satan. '' I ivill put enmities,'' said 
the Almighty to Satan, ''between thee and the woman; 
afid thy seed and her seed ; she shall crush thy head, and 
thou shalt lie in wait for her heel!' ( Gen . iii. — 15.) 

O Virgin ! pure and perfect in each part, you over- 
threw the power of Satan when you submitted to the 
will of heaven and became the Mother of the Saviour 
of mankind. 

Deplorable indeed was this fall ; and as general over 



158 SERMONS ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

the face of the earth as it was and is deplorable. Not 
only was man condemned on account of his trangres- 
sion of the divine law, but the earth itself was cursed; 
for God declared to Adam : ''Because thou hast heark- 
ened to the voice of thy zvife, a?ui hast eate?i of the 
tree, zvhereof I commaiided thee that thou should not 
eat, cursed is the earth in thy work: with labor a72d 
toil shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life.'' (Gen. 
iii. — 17.) An awful blight had settled down upon 
the fair face of the earth ; and man's intellect was ob- 
scured by the cloud of sin. This sin bred contention 
and contention gave birth to other crimes and sins, 
until man raised his hand against the life of his fellow 
man, the strong crushed the weak, power was enthroned 
as the god of right, and nation met nation in the throes 
of death upon the field of strife. This appalling con- 
sequence of sin continued and will ever continue as 
long as man remains an inhabitant of this globe and 
another man is left to dispute his power. This is one 
of the temporal effects of man's great fall from grace. 
But while the numerous ills of life remain, the Redeemer 
ransomed the soul of man ; and now you can by your 
good works attain to a degree of merit and reward far 
exceeding that which would be yours, had Adam and 
Eve never sinned. But a co-operator in this great work 
of the redemption was necessary, and this willing co- 
operator is the Mother of Jesus. It is decreed in heaven 
that the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity will clothe 
Himself in human form and save the human race. 
What perfection then was lavished by the Eternal 
Father upon that creature who was to weave from her 
own nature the human garb which enveloped the 
Divinity ! You may form some idea of her resplendent 
virtues from the woman described in the apocalypse 



SECOND SERMON. 159 

by St. John : ** Afid there appeared a great wo7ider in 
heave7i; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moo?i 
under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve 
stars, (xii.— i.) St. Francis De Sales in eulogizing 
the Blessed Virgin, exclaims: '*0f this heavenly 
queen, from my heart I proclaim this loving and true 
thought. The angels and saints are only compared to 
stars, and the first of those to the fairest of these. But 
she is fair as the moon, as easily to be discerned from 
the other saints as the sun is from the stars. She re- 
ceives a crown not like those of other saints, but of 
twelve stars." Well then does the Church pray : 
" Holy Mary, Mother of God." Well do the powers of 
heaven exclaim : " Holy Mary, Mother of God. " Well 
does every Catholic pray : " Holy Mary, Mother of 
God " ; for the Eternal Father of the heavens and the 
earth has proclaimed this great, elevating, crowning 
truth ; and His Divine Son has confirmed, by His birth, 
this same sublime, enlightening, efficacious distinction 
bestowed upon His Blessed Mother ! 

But the Church continuing, exclaims : " Pray for 
us sinners now and at the hour of our death." Pray for 
us sinners ; pray for us, because your Divine Son died 
for us ; pray for us because we are your children ; pray 
for us because our sins have deservedly blocked the 
avenues to the throne of mercy. 

" Virgin ! if ever yet 
The misery of man and mortal things 
To mercy moved thee, to my prayer incline ; 
Help me in this my strife, 

Though I am but of dust, and thou heaven's radiant Queen ! " 

—(Petrarch.) 

How many a tempest-tossed soul has invoked the 
Queen of Heaven with these same sentiments of the 



160 SERMONS ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

celebrated Italian poet ! The language was probably 
not so beautiful, but the desire of the soul for relief was 
as ardent and as suppliant. How many a harrowed heart 
has appealed to her : 

" Virgin ! if ever yet 
The misery of man and mortal things 
To mercy move thee, to my prayer inchne." 

Ah, Virgin I " if ever yet, " and certainly millions have 
sought your aid, and millions have, through your inter- 
cession, obtained relief for every woe. The misery of 
man to mercy moved thee often ; then to my prayer 
incline, for I am most wretched. I am wedded to mis- 
fortune and to dire want. Every hope is blasted by 
disaster ; every effort frustrated by some malicious fate ; 
every joy changed to sorrow ; all ambition crushed ; 
death has scourged my home, and friends have vanished 
at the approach of poverty ! 

" Help me in this my strife, 
Though I am but of dust and thou heaven's radiant Queen ! " 

I am but of dust, and in my misery far more abject than 
the dust. But, radiant Queen of Heaven, you will have 
compassion on this poor, frail dust. You will stoop 
from your bright throne to lift, encourage, and sustain 
one for whom your Jesus died. 

'• With bended knee and broken heart, I pray 
That thou my guide wouldst be, 

And to such prosperous end direct my faltering way." 

—(Petrarch.) 

With bended knee and broken heart I pray that you 
direct me to your Son, to sanctifying grace and in- 
nocent peace. If I am a wretch and a sinner, look 
once more upon Calvary's height. See the sacred blood 
of your Divine Son gushing forth from every fountain 
of mercy. Behold that haggard, fainting look. Hear 



SECOND SERMON. 161 

the voice of mercy from that dying, sacred tongue. See 
the glance of pity from those expiring eyes. 

" Till now, whate'er I sought, wherever turned, 
My life has passed in torment and in tears."' — (Petrarch.) 

But I have confidence in you. You love to help 
those for whom your Divine Son suffered such awful 
agony. The prints of the nails are still visible ia His 
sacred hands and feet, and you will appeal to those 
for mercy, pardon, and peace for your unfortunate sup- 
pliant. 

" O Virgin ! pure and good, 

Delay not till I reach my last year." — (Petrarch.) 

Dispel these torments which have harassed me so long. 
Dry these tears which are the messengers of my 
grief. I know that patient suffering has its reward 
in heaven ; but I am faint and weary of the strife. 
Help me, then, before my last moan and sigh escape my 
oppressed heart. 

Most assuredly such appeals will find solace in the 
tender heart of Mary, and how many such appeals have 
been made ! How affectionately she treats the sinner ; 
and how sorrowful she must be when a sinner listens 
not to her entreaties. " No one has recourse to thy 
protection, implored thy help, or sought thy mediation, 
without obtaining relief," says her great advocate, St. 
Bernard. She has prayed and assisted by her prayers 
saints and sinners ; she has been the help of Christians 
and the refuge of the afflicted. Many a one she has 
kindly led to the door of the confessional, and after 
that confession how the purified soul held gracious 
converse with her, thanking her for her aid and begging 
her to offer the gifts of his relieved heart to her Divine 
Son as a token of gratitude for His great mercy. 

" At the hour of our death." The Church te^iches us 



162 SERMONS ON THE BLESSED \r[RGIN. 

to ask her to assist us at the hour of our death. This 
is a most important time. On it the happiness or 
misery of eternity depends. Will she abandon or neg- 
lect in this sad trial those who prayed so often to her 
for aid at the hour of death? Oh, no; she will then 
be especially attentive to all who were devoted to her. 
Then she willbendtenderly over their dying couch and 
solace their last moments on earth. What a happy 
death will that Catholic have who always cherished in 
his heart devotion for the Mother of sorrows ! Every 
Hail Mary will then have its reward, and the Mother 
of Jesus will not then forget her supplicating child. 
How many a Catholic, since the divine tragedy on 
Calvary, expressed the sentiment of the poet, that he 
may have a happy death. 

" Virgin ! in whom I fix my every hope, 
Who canst and willst assist me in great need, 
Forsake me not in this my worst extreme." — (Petrarch.) 

And that Virgin who never deceived hope nor aban- 
doned sorrow, will not desert the person who so often 
said with true devotion : " Holy Mary, Mother of God, 
pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death." 
Constantly she will watch over him during life, warding 
off danger, protecting from accidents, assuaging grief, 
guarding against sin ; and at the last hour of his life, 
Death will be shorn of his terrors by her presence. 
And Jesus Himself will come in the Holy Viaticum, 
imparting strength and confidence to the departing soul. 
In concluding, we cannot express any sentiment more 
appropriate than that contained in the closing lines of 
this sublime poem from which we have quoted so freely: 

" The day must come, nor distant far its date, 
Time flies so swift and snre. 
peerless and alone ! 



I 



SECOND SERMON. 163 

When death my heart, now conscience-struck, shall seize, 

Commend me. Virgin ! then to thy dear Son, 

True God and Very Man. 

That my last sigh in peace may in His arms be breathed. 



THIRD SERMON. 



** Hail ! full of Grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art 
thou among zv omen.'' ( Luke i. — 2%) 

Rosary Sunday. 

My Dear Brethren : To-day is the feast of the 
Holy Rosary. A beautiful feast it is, fraught with 
thought and endowed with Catholic edification. The 
feast of the rosary, the feast of the crown of Mary, 
should have joy for every heart. The rosary, with 
every bead a spiritual rose for the brow of our queen, 
should be our joy. Ought Catholics hesitate to en- 
twine such a crown for such a queen ? Should they be 
indifferent or lazy in so beautiful a devotion ? A 
Catholic who is, must not complain if Mary will not 
comfort him in his sorrows. He has not been her 
child ; and, in not being her child, he failed to be a 
child of Jesus, her Divine Son. The Catholic who 
loves the one, loves the other. 

The rosary is a devotion toward the Blessed Virgin 
on account of her motherly care of Christians ; partic- 
ularly on account of her special defence against the 
Turks at momentous periods. In this devotion is 
contained the history of the great fountain sources of 
Christianity. The mysteries of the incarnation and 
birth, suffering and death, resurrection and ascension, 
the descent of the Holy Ghost, and the joys and sorrows 
of Mary. What wonderful thoughts do not these 
mysteries inspire ! Thoughts so profound, you cannot 

164 



THIRD SERMON. 165 

reach them ! Thoughts so high, you cannot soar to 
them ! Thoughts so incomprehensible to human in- 
tellect, you cannot grasp them ! Thoughts which 
edify and console, though they baffle the most pro- 
digious intelligence. 

The rosary — how does it begin ? The very first thing 
which you meet is the crucifix. What is that ? An 
image of Christ crucified. Who is Christ ? The Son 
of God. This little crucifix speaks to you of the mar- 
vellous mercy of God ; of his beneficence to man ; of 
His sacrifice for the human race. There is the picture 
of Jesus dying on the cross. For what or for whom ? 
For you and me. Devoted Friend, You are to us 
poor, frail sinners a merciful benefactor ! You gave 
yourself for our salvation. This little crucifix tells 
you of His love for you ; tells you of the redemp- 
tion ; tells you how high an estimate Jesus has for 
you ; — it tells you all this and much more. It leads 
you back to the dawn of Creation and forward to your 
eternal destiny. The next on the rosary — is what ? It 
is a little bead. How does its prayer begin ? By the 
noblest act of human intellect, "I believe in God." 
I believe in God ! What a sublime expression of 
faith ! How it elevates the creature and draws him to 
his God ! Grandest act of an intelligent soul : " I be- 
lieve in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of 
heaven and earth ! " You had just been studying the 
crucifix. The mind penetrated into the labyrinth of 
thought. Mystery after mystery presented themselves. 
Your comprehension failed ; your intellect was con- 
founded ; but now you turn in faith to the Supreme 
Being and exclaim: "I believe in God, the Father 
Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth!" What 
faith ! What confidence ! Wonderful prayer I Dig- 



166 SERMONS ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

nified creature ! who has the grace to utter thus yo\.«' 
belief in your Creator. 

" And in Jesus Christ His only Son." Another proof 
of your fidelity. You transcend the impenetrable veil 
which hides the mystery of the incarnation of the Son 
of God, and all the other wonders which surround the 
life of Christ. You pray in the wealth of your faith, " I 
believe in Jesus Christ His only Son." Your intellect 
bows in adoration before the Altar of God ; and what 
you cannot understand, you accept upon the veracity 
of Jesus. Faith fills your soul with grandest devotion ; 
you are absorbed in contemplation of God's goodness 
to sinners. 

Ought you not revere that sacred name of Jesus ? You 
have been meditating upon his suffering while you 
gaze in love upon the crucifix. Intense love toward 
Jesus, your Saviour, and intense compassion. After 
such edifying, regenerating devotion, will you lay down 
your rosary, and with a foul tongue misuse that holy 
name and insult your Saviour ? Yea, the Catholic who 
will do it, has a corrupt heart. He is debased ! Has 
no faith ! Bespeaks the filthiness of his own impover- 
ished soul ! Still, there are so-called Catholics who 
glory in such shame ; who dare insult their crucified 
Redeemer by their ignorant imprecations. Fie on such 
Catholics ! You disgrace yourself in trying to be black- 
guards ; you scandalize the innocent by your stupid be- 
havior ; and you bring upon your poor, desolate selves 
the anger of heaven. How the angels must blush at 
your madness ! I believe you do not say the rosary. 

Without continuing further this Catholic prayer of 
faith, let me inquire what invocation is in the next 
bead ? Is it not the Our Father ? " Our Father, who 
art in heaven," is the commencement of the prayer 



THIRD SERMON. 167 

for the next rose in the crown of heaven's Queen. How 
gracious is this prayer ! Ponder it well. Our Father ! 
The Eternal Father, our Father ! Who taught us thus 
to pray ? Jesus Christ, His Divine Son. "When you 
pray," He said, " say, our Father, who art in heaven," 
and continues this affectionate prayer to its conclusion. 
Love of love, what can surpass it in affection ! Our 
Father ! Not an angry God now ! No tyrant, no in- 
different preserver ! And His Eternal Son teaching us 
this prayer . Love of the Father and the Son calling us to 
be more intimate with both. The Father of heaven — 
our Father, our Creator, our Father ! our eternal joy, 
telling us through the lips of His co-eternal Son that 
He is our Father. Might not the angels be confounded 
by such love toward sinners ! 

Hallowed be thy name ! Oh, where is the Catholic 
who would desecrate that holy name of Father ? Where 
is the Catholic who does not enshrine it in his soul ? 
To keep it hallowed, to increase and retain its sacred- 
ness among men, should be the unrelenting pursuit of 
everyone of you. How can man be better occupied 
than promoting the glory of Him who allows us to call 
Him Our Father. Sacred prayer! Sacred because 
first expressed by the most sacred person, Jesus. 
Sacred because it is a supplication to the most sacred 
person. Almighty God. This morning we cannot do 
more than call your attention to the introductory parts 
of these beautiful prayers, out of which a diadem of 
prayer may be woven for the Mother of Jesus. 

Ah ! the next bead is especially dedicated to Mary. 
" Hail ! full of grace, the Lord is with thee ; blessed art 
thou among women." Who first uttered this prayer ? 
God Himself. There came a time in heaven when the 
Qountenance of the Eternal Father wore an anxious 



168 SERMONS ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

expression. His face indicated that a great resolve was 
laboring in His eternal bosom. He summoned His 
Archangel Gabriel to Him and commissioned Gabriel 
to go to Nazareth and declare to a virgin called Mary : 
** Hail ! Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee ; 
blessed art thou among women." 

It was God then Who first pronounced these words. 
Gabriel only obeyed the mandate of his Eternal King. 
It was God Who first said, " Hail, Mary." Extraordin- 
ary distinction ! Marvellous honor ! Notable approval 
of her sanctity ! Singular favor, wonderful promotion, 
sacred dignity, were thus bestowed upon you, O benign 
Queen of Heaven ! Why should we Catholics be cen- 
sured for loving you, when your God in this manner 
honored you ? It is ignorance which prompts such 
censure. It is darkness of the understanding which 
would disrespect you, and thereby dishonor Him Who 
first said, '• Hail ! Mary, full of grace." 

Ah ! Mary, you have been honored, notwithstanding 
this blindness. Kings have laid their crowns at your 
feet and prayed the rosary. Soldiers their swords, 
sailors their mantles, poets their verses, genius its 
fruits. All have ofttimes entwined for your holy brow 
a crown of spiritual roses. Your rosary has demon- 
strated the equality of man. The emperor has had 
his rosary, so the poor negro ; the princess has her 
rosary, so the beggar girl ; genius and ignorance have 
knelt before your statue and repeated the same prayer. 
Eloquence has praised you ; poetry has embalmed 
your merits ; while the prayers of poverty have risen 
in sacred incense, a tribute to you, the Mother of the 
poor. Glorious equality ! How much, Mary, have you 
done to establish the brotherhood of man. As Jesus, 
your Son, died for all, you entertain no distinction of 



THIKD SEKMON. 169 

persons. If there Is any discrimination, it arises not 
from man's social inequality, but from his merits and 
his love for the Redeemer. In your presence all men 
are created equal. 

What consolation have not all obtained through 
your intercession. Eyes have brought their tears, 
hearts their sorrows, souls their anxieties, lips their 
moans. The moans were calmed into peace, sorrows 
converted into joys, tears were wiped away, anxieties 
changed to hope. You have been a mother to the 
saint and to the sinner as well. The penitent crushed 
by remorse sought your help, and you led her kindly 
by the hand to the feet of Mercy, and she became 
another Magdalen in her love for Jesus. 

Even the very chain of the rosary becomes for us a 
bond uniting us to the throne of God ; drawing us 
closer and closer to heaven ; raising us little by little 
to the realms where our Saviour reigns ; opening the 
eyes of the soul more and more, until the Angel of 
Death announces our temporal existence is closing ; and 
catching a glimpse of what God has prepared for us, 
we exclaim : *' Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for 
us sinners now, the last moment of our life." 



FOURTH SERMON. 



Render^ therefore, ho/ior to ivhoin honor is due. (St. Paul, 
Rom. xiii.^7.) * 

On THE Propriety OF Catholic Veneration for the 
Blessed Virgin Mary. 

j\Iy Dear Brethren : The Creator has endowed 
the intellect of man with unalterable principles of 
truth and justice. So innate are they interwoven in 
our nature, that to obliterate them would require the 
destruction of the human soul. Bigotry and prejudice 
may for a time silence their operations ; but this state 
of mental disorder cannot banish the principles them- 
selves. When the excitement of the hour will have 
passed and the passions will have grown cold, truth 
and justice will once more assert their supremacy and 
maintain their undying authority. The public mind 
will become more conservative ; jt will condemn with 
prudence and wisdom the false, and, often contrary to 
its own prejudices, acquiesce in the true. Such is now 
the tendency of the enlightened Protestant mind in 
respect to the veneration of the Mother of Jesus. The 
waves of popular prejudice, which have been for cen- 
turies dashing against Catholic devotion, are gradually 
breaking. The mind, indeed, of our dissenting friends 
needs only enlightenment upon Catholic truths to dis- 
sipate the objections which they raise to the veneration 

* The Author's first sermon. 

m 



FOURTH SERMON. 171 

of the Queen of Heaven, and to subvert the erroneous 
opinions which some of them hold, that Catholics ren- 
der to Mary divine homage ; for many of our Protest- 
ant friends unite broad views with liberal sentiments ; 
hence, if they would only consider the real character, 
together with the reasonableness of the veneration 
given by us to the Mother of God, justice would 
acknowledge the validity of such devotion, while truth 
would impel them to concede its propriety. 

For the purpose, then, of demonstrating this pro- 
priety, as well as to refute some charges which are 
brought against the veneration of the Blessed Virgin 
Mary, and to enhance your devotion to her, we pro- 
pose for your consideration : first, that some persons, 
and even material objects, have ever been considered 
venerable ; second, that the Blessed Virgin, Mother of 
God, is more entitled to our esteem and veneration 
than these persons and material objects to which we 
refer. 

It is important here to distinguish between venera- 
tion and adoration ; for we are often charged with 
bestowing upon Mary divine honors. Adoration as 
performed by Christians consists in offering supreme 
worship to Almighty God. Catholics do not directly or 
indirectly manifest this homage to the Blessed Virgin. 
Our theologians are as competent to discriminate 
between the worship due the Supreme Being and the 
veneration which is becoming to beings of inferior 
power and dignity, as those who are so ignorant as to 
heap upon us such ungrounded imputations. We ven- 
erate the Mother of God, and we do not deny that 
acts of love and veneration are incessantly shown by 
Vis to her ; and, moreover, we contend that those who 
differ with us in religious principles will, aft^r maturq 



172 SERMONS ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

deliberation, acknowledge such respect to be lawful 
and commendable. For instead of subverting the 
honor due to God, it stabilitates that honor by demon- 
strating the superiority of the Omnipotent ; instead of 
narrowing the basis of divine worship, it tends to en- 
large the sphere of devotion and subjection to the first 
and most August Being of the universe, by observing 
the difference between the most exalted finite being 
and the Infinite. 

That there are degrees in the veneration manifested 
toward works of art and persons of note, all will admit. 
It will also be conceded that Catholics have at least 
some ability in judging those degrees. Now, if we are 
capable of such discernment, why condemn us as being 
so blind as not to recognize a more notable dissim- 
ilarity, — the dissimilarity between the creature and the 
Creator. Is not the dissimilitude greater ; or must we 
be considered so stupid as not to discern the differ- 
ence ; or so obstinate as not to admit its existence ? 
Each supposition is equally absurd ; for if no differ- 
ence were noted, our conception of God would be de- 
stroyed, because God is the Infinite Being ; and from 
the signification of this term there cannot be two 
beings of this degree. The other is so false that we 
ought to pass it over with the contempt it deserves ; but 
still, for their information we tell them that the Catholic 
Church has ever distinguished between the creature 
and the Creator, between the finite and the Infinite, 
between the universe and God. The publishers of so 
erroneous a charge should be more discreet ; for they 
display by such assertions their shallowness as well as 
their ignorance of the intellectual warfare which has 
been continuously waged by the Catholic Church 
against those systems of false philosophy which would 



FOURTH SERMON. 173 

eliminate God from the universe and despoil Him of 
the love and worship of His creatures. 

Nothing can be more conformable to unbiased reason 
than our veneration for the Mother of Jesus. For do 
you not venerate persons distinguished for their deeds 
of valor and patriotism ? Do you not even esteem 
and venerate the memory of inanimate objects ? 
Which of you could gaze upon the paintings of some 
great Grecian or Italian artist with a cold heart and 
unmoved feelings ? While your admiration kindles 
for the breathing canvas or the exquisitely chiseled 
marble, your mind reverts with enthusiastic veneration 
toward the artist. Every faculty is aglow when you 
study the retouching and expression of these master- 
pieces which are on exhibition before you ; but you 
marvel at the accuracy of the taste and the grandeur of 
the painter's and the sculptor's genius ! Your venera- 
tion for these grand conceptions of genius and the 
masters who gave them birth, is not alone. Men of 
talent and acknowledged ability have honored them, do 
honor them ; and when the ravages of time will have 
wasted them, history will be an enduring monument 
to their glory ! 

Has not, moreover, every nation her heroes and her 
statesmen, whom the people not only honor, but vie 
with one another in expressing their love and venera- 
tion ? Will not our dissenting brethren, with whom we 
regret to differ, subscribe to the truth of this state- 
ment ? Unhesitatingly, I answer they do ; and my 
reason is, that they extol with veneration bordering on 
worship the merits of valor upon the battlefield, and 
applaud with enthusiasm the splendid achievements 
of wisdom and eloquence in the council chambers of 
the nation. These are considerations approved by all. 



174 SERMONS ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

Why then refuse the veneration due to the Mother of 
God ? To every one is rendered the honor owed him, 
and to many, more than is due them ; but to the Blessed 
Virgin there must be no honor, no veneration ! She de- 
clares : " Henceforth all nations will call me blessed " ; 
but thousands who call themselves followers of her 
Son, spurn her claim and despise her pre-eminence. 
Still, her faithful children venerate her and respect her 
superiority and call her blessed. Not only is this 
honor shown her because she is a pious, virtuous Virgin 
endowed with many general graces ; but especially on 
account of her extraordinary grace and exaltation in 
being the Mother of the Redeemer. 

It will also be conceded, without any contention, that 
the greater the perfection in the fine arts, the greater 
and more general is the approbation and honor. The 
same concession will be granted in regard to rational 
nature ; hence, without going into any labored discus- 
sion upon the various degrees of perfection, let us 
state as an axiom that the greater the Christian virtue, 
the greater the perfection. With this basis we main- 
tain that the more virtuous a person is, the more he is 
entitled to our esteem and veneration. But, next 
to God, what person is so pure, so exalted, so 
virtuous as the Mother of God ? Some assert, how- 
ever, that the veneration given to the Blessed Virgin 
derogates from the worship of the Infinite Being. 
With as much reason they could argue that the 
attributes ascribed to the moon by astronomical calcu- 
lations, detract from the power and splendor of the 
sun ; or that the legitimate respect we entertain for a 
bishop robs the Pope of his majesty and holiness. 

Of Christians who upbraid us on account of our love 
and affection for the Queen of Heaven, let me inquire: 



FOURTH SERMON. 175 

would you not, if the opportunity offered, kneel before 
the Holy Sepulchre with veneration and reverence ? 
Would you not embrace with the most tender emotions 
the sacred wood upon which the mangled form of the 
Redeemer hung in merciless agony during three 
long, terrible hours ? Yea ; you would shed tears of 
gratitude, and with tear-dimmed eye and penitential 
heart view the relics of man's Redemption. Why 
then should you censure us for venerating the Mother 
who bore the Redeemer ; who fondled and caressed 
Him ; who stood at the foot of the cross, and with a 
mother's heart and a mother's affection beheld the 
last sad moments of her expiring Son ? You do not 
reflect, nor do you understand our devotion and attach- 
ment to her ; or, as we urged in the beginning, from the 
very principles of your intellect you would acquiesce in 
the reasonableness of our veneration toward the Mother 
of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. 

Those reflections lead us to determine, in the second 
place, whether the Mother of our Divine Saviour is not 
only deserving our veneration, but whether she has not 
more claim to it than those persons and objects which 
we have mentioned. What judge shall we invoke ? 
What discriminating power will weigh with accuracy 
and impartiality the force and truth of the arguments ? 
Will our opponents object to the Omniscient God ? 
Most assuredly not. All Christians consider Him the 
last and highest tribunal of justice. But this very 
judge to whom we appeal, has already by His very act 
given His sanction to her greater veneration. Yea, 
indeed, He has venerated her Himself ; for He has 
exalted her to the dignity of Mother of His co-eternal 
Son. Who willcensure the wisdom of Almighty God 
because He has expressed so much esteem and pref- 



176 SERMONS ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

erence for her who was destined to crush the 
serpent's head ? Was not the Son of God, moreover, 
subject to her ? Did He not obey her as His Mother ? 
Did he not venerate her as His Mother ? Did not 
the Holy Ghost estimate her above all other 
women, and regard her as the only one worthy to 
become the Mother of the Second Person of the Ador- 
able Trinity ? Did not all three concur in venerating 
her as the second Eve who should be the Mother of the 
Most High and of the posterity of succeeding ages ? 

Let us now consider for a few moments the propo- 
sition which prohibits honor and veneration to be shown 
to the Mother of Jesus. We shall examine and com- 
pare a few of the actions and sayings of our adversaries 
for the purpose of ascertaining their inconsistencies. 
They tell us they are admirers of the beautiful, the true, 
and the good. We willingly concede this. Their art 
galleries are adorned and enriched with the gems and 
relics of ages. Public honor is conferred upon them ; 
for they are often preserved at the public expense, and 
the public crowd to see and praise them. The true, 
both in nature and art, is extolled and highly appreci- 
ated, while the good are immortalized in verse or 
carved imperishably in marble. Our public parks 
and other places of interest possess monuments erec- 
ted by a grateful and venerating people to some patron 
of knowledge or benefactor of the state. Upon the walls 
of their dwellings are hanging from exquisite tapestry 
the pictures of some dear dead ; but go into their 
churches, and where are the paintings and sculpture em- 
blematic of our Divine Saviour, of the Redemption, of 
the Mother of the Redeemer, which in Catholic 
churches fill the mind with love, reverence, and vener- 
ation ? " Ah ! "they will tell you, *' those things are too 



FOUETH SERMON. 177 

superstitious." But we just call their attention to the 
public monuments and their veneration ; and inquire 
is this not also superstitious ? Why have repositories of 
art where the memory of the good and the great are . 
preserved ; why have your own residences pictured 
with the images of departed friends, if it is superstitious 
to have the temple of God embellished with paintings 
and statuary expressive of Him to whose honor it has 
been raised, or of those who constitute the Holy Fam- 
ily ? We are told that the images of the Blessed Virgin 
in our churches must be torn down ; for veneration tow- 
ard them is idolatrous ! We maintain, nevertheless, 
that the logical consequence of their assertion demands 
more. It demands that all the emblems raised to man's 
greatness and for the perpetuity of his memory, be lev- 
eled to the dust ; for, were those persons greater than 
the Mother of the Saviour of the world ? Do they enjoy 
a more distinguished place in the kingdom of heaven ? 
Is the transmission of their names to posterity of more 
vital importance ? Although we are proud in saying 
that no one of our dissenting friends entertains a more 
elevated or grander ideal of that veneration which is 
owed our ancestorial benefactors than ourselves ; still, 
regard for the truth compels us to answer : No, they 
were not greater, neither are they more exalted in 
celestial glory, nor is the preservation of their mem- 
ories more sacred ; for in these days of unbelief her 
memory vitalizes Christianity, .gives proofs of the Re- 
demption, strengthens and perpetuates Christian truths, 
and is indissolubly linked with the growth and endur- 
ance of all that is moral, of all that is religious ! We do 
no injustice to our non-Catholic friends when we say : 
were the Blessed Virgin not loved and venerated by 
Catholics, Protestants would enshrine her in their hearts. 



178 SEKMONS ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

But from their arguments we deduce that all the im- 
mortal dead are to be honored and venerated excepting 
the Mother of Jesus. She who gave us the Redeemer ; 
who was elevated to the highest dignity on earth and the 
most exalted in heaven ; whose claims have been defend- 
ed by the most celebrated Doctors of the Church ; whose 
praises have been sung in every clime during almost 
nineteen centuries ; whom the Fathers of the Church and 
all Christendom have loved and venerated ; that she must 
be forgotten, that her veneration must cease, — because 
some in this enlightened age say it is idolatrous ! They 
boldly assert that we are superstitious, that we are 
ignorant, and this ignorance accounts for the pious 
practices of our Church ! To such rant and cant we 
reply that, " Fools rush in where angels fear to tread." 
Have not the erroneous charges of our opponents 
been met and refuted by the incontestable evidence of 
facts and reason ? Permit us to affirm that the nature 
and substance of the charges are most favorable com- 
ments upon the propriety of our veneration ; for could 
more solid objections have been produced, they would 
have urged them, clad in the armor of strong logic 
and bitter sarcasm. Their weakness in attacking our 
devotion to the Mother of Jesus should persuade them 
that their cause is unjust ; and indeed many Protestants 
must feel how inconsistent they act and what ingrati- 
tude they manifest to the Blessed Virgin who, for her 
Son's sake, loves them and prays for them. Ah ! if 
Protestants only reflected and purged their souls of 
prejudice, what affectionate devotion they would have 
for Mary. See what love converts cherish for her. 
They are more faithful to her than many of us who have 
been born and trained in the Catholic faith. The full 
glory of Mary's greatness has burst upon them, and 



FOURTH SERMON. 179 

they do all in their power now to compensate for 
their want of kindness to her in the past. 

But for you who have been nursed with tjje blessings 
of the Church and the graces of Almighty God and the 
prayers of Mary, can you be prevailed upon by sneers 
and scoffs to relinquish your love for her ? Can you 
ever hesitate in your veneration for one whom Jesus, 
the Son of God, loved so much ? Can you ever es- 
teem and honor her with those marked expressions of 
elevated distinction with which the Holy Trinity has 
exalted her ? No ; you are Catholics and understand 
her marvellous prerogatives. Your only anxiety arises 
from the deficiency of your fervor, fearing lest you do 
not sufficiently express your gratitude to her for the 
many blessings she has obtained for you from her 
Divine Son. 

Your devotion for the Mother of God is rational. You 
distinguish between the majesty of the Supreme Being 
and the venerableness of the Blessed Virgin. While 
you worship God as the Creator, Ruler, and Preserver 
of all things, you implore her maternal care and protec- 
tion. The Son of God Himself, fainting upon the cross, 
gave her as a mother to you. The night before His 
passion He gave Himself in the Sacrament of the 
Holy Eucharist ; but now^ in the throes of death, now 
when every tie of friendship grows stronger, now when 
His solicitude for His friends increases with His anguish, 
He bequeathes them His Mother: ''Mother, behold 
thy son ; son behold thy mother'' — the last grand 
legacy of the dying Redeemer ! And now that she 
is in heaven, she will continue to be a mother to you 
and to me. She will beseech her Divine Son to exten- 
uate His justice ; she will encourage you when you are 
weak ; and should you have fallen, she will strive to 



180 SEBMONS ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

raise and support you ; she will pray for you before 
the throne of mercy. 

Who will deny us the right to have recourse to Mary 
when Jesus exhorts us to pray for one another ? 
Whom shall we request, who will more graciously 
listen to our petitions, or present them more faithfully 
before the God of mercy ? Who will charge us with 
superstition or polytheism, if with aching heart and 
throbbing brow we entreat her who never deceived hope 
nor abandoned sorrow. And thou, O most venerable 
Mother ! permit us not to wander from the path of 
virtue. Be our guide and advocate during our trials 
on earth ; and in the last moments of our tempest-tossed 
life, be the Morning Star of our hope on the threshold 
of eternity ! When the cold sweat of death will have 
settled upon our haggard and troubled brow, may yout 
celestial presence illumine our clouded intellects and 
inflame our hearts with hope ! May the last breath of 
our mortal pilgrimage be the first to praise you and 
your Divine Son in the mansions of eternal day ! 



FIFTH SERMON. 



Comforter of the afflicted, pray for us. 

My Dear Brethren : Autumn is again with us, and 
with it October, a month dedicated to the Queen of 
Angels. Since you knelt before her altar in May, 
the summer has vanished with her beauties and her 
glories, with her sorrows and her joys. Autumn 
weeps and mourns over the departed days of summer. 
The foliage which once sparkled in its luxuriance is now 
sad and faded ; the fields have lost their freshness and 
beauty ; the song of the birds is hushed — they have 
winged themselves to a more joyful climate ; the face 
of nature which in May was full of hope, buoyancy, 
and rapture, is now haggard, disfigured, and sorrowful. 
Nature is afflicted, and she imparts afflictions to us ; 
because we sympathize with her on account of the sad- 
ness which is upon her. The sympathy we thus bestow 
tells of our own regrets for the decay which has come 
upon her brilliancy and magnificence. As we muse 
upon her affliction and the sympathetic effects it has 
upon ourselves, the thoughts and the sorrows and 
losses of the human heart commingle with our musings. 
We wonder how the human heart has borne the burden 
of so many sorrows. Truly, it would be more often 
despondent had it not its hope anchored in heaven ; 
and had it not, in its afflictions, a comforter in the 
person of the Blessed Mother of Jesus. 



181 



182 SERMONS ON THE BLESSED ^^RGIN. 

Because we cry to her in our sorrow, some upbraid 
us and say we are superstitious. But if you reflect you 
will easily see that the one who loves Mary, loves her 
Divine Child ; and the one who sincerely loves the 
Divine Child, must love His Virgin Mother. You can- 
not love the Mother and hate the Son ; or love the 
Son and hate the Mother. Especially is this true 
when the mother is the Mother of the Divine Child 
and the Divine Child is the Son of God. The Child 
and the Mother are dear to every Catholic heart ; and. 
since the Mother first knelt beside her Child's crib at 
Bethlehem, how many Catholic hearts have knelt at 
her feet and implored from the Divine Child in her arms 
mercy and pardon ; and to her they pleaded : Com- 
forter of the afflicted, pray for us ! Her memory is 
interwoven with the history of Christianity ; her 
triumphs, the triumphs of Christianity ; her veneration, 
the veneration of Christianity ; her praises, the advance- 
ment of Christianity ! 

From the first affliction which she suffered to the 
present moment, she has been the Mother of the afflic- 
ted. When the Apostles were deprived of their Divine 
Guide and Master, she was a mother to them, advising, 
encouraging, and praying for them. How tranquil 
must have been the life of St. John the Apostle in hav- 
ing her for his mother. Her prayers and her encourage- 
ment were his solace and his peace. He was the only 
one of the twelve who did not suffer the agony of 
martyrdom. His life flowed away peacefully, and he 
was blessed with glimpses of heaven before he was 
called to his eternal reward with his Master and his 
God. 

As St. Peter and St. Paul journeyed on their lonely 
\vay to the City of Rome, their hearts were no doubt 



FIFTH SERMON. 183 

afflicted, and in their affliction their prayers sought the 
aid of the Mother of sorrows. Judging from a human 
standpoint, what misgivings must have oppressed their 
souls. They were to announce to the pride and the 
wisdom of the Eternal City the crucifixion of Jesus ; 
that He is the Son of God ; that He was scourged and 
crowned with thorns and died upon a cross. They must 
have expected to hear from the masters and the ple- 
beians and the patricians this reply : " You tell us how 
your Master died upon the cross ; that He is God, the 
Creator and Governor of the universe ; but such a death 
does not comport with His claims. A God dying upon 
a cross is ridiculous. Such a death bespeaks weak- 
ness, not strength ; wickedness, not innocence ; de- 
basement, not the glory of the heavens." To be sure 
St. Peter and St. Paul were sustained by the ardor of 
their undertaking, the proofs which they saw ; the 
grace of Jesus and the prayers of Mary. When they 
were led forth to execution, and while in prison, how 
often in their fervency did they appeal to Mary : Com- 
forter of the afflicted, pray for us ! 

The ruins of the great amphitheatre are now crum- 
bling under the weight of years ; still, as one gazes upon 
them he is overawed by their majesty and the things 
which they conjure up. As he ponders in contem- 
plating the cruel scenes enacted there, in thought 
he hears the roaring of the lions, the prowling of the 
tigers, the cringing of the panthers, as they enter from 
their cages into the vast arena and prepare to assault 
the early Christians condemned to death. These mar- 
tyrs gave testimony of their faith by the blood of 
their hearts. They consecrated Rome by that blood 
and made the amphitheatre a sacred place. Yet, when 
you consider their sufferings, when you meditate upon 



184 SERMONS ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

their imprisonment, and contemplate the visions of 
their cruel death, with which their imaginations must 
have tortured them, you will agree with me that count- 
less times they raised their anguish-bound hearts to 
Mary and exclaimed : Comforter of the afflicted, pray 
for us ! 

Since those early persecutions numberless souls in 
their affliction have sought the intercession of that 
comforter. In the wars with the Turk and during 
the Crusades, non-combatants joined their supplica- 
tions with the warrior to obtain aid from the Mother of 
sorrows and the help of Christians. Monks and nuns, 
priest, bishop, and pope have besought her aid. Roy- 
alty knelt with poverty and acknowledged her benign 
influence. The scholar and the semi-civilized gave 
expression to their gratitude to her in heart-rejoicing 
prayer. The joy of the happy was offered as a token 
of thanksgiving, and the sigh of grief rose to her celes- 
tial throne in supplication for relief. All these had 
confidence in her prayers ; for they knew that her 
Divine Son would listen graciously to her petitions and 
that He had still an interest in calming sorrow. In 
chapel, church, and cathedral, in the hovel of the poor, 
in the palace of the rich, in the fields and on the roads, 
how many a happy or grief-laden heart has prayed : 
Comforter of the afflicted, pray for us ! 

In Ireland, during the last three centuries, how many 
have clung to her for help in their woe ! Yes, we may 
say for the last eight centuries how many have begged 
her in their untold miseries to banish sorrow and 
cruelty from their unhappy land ! Though the rigor 
of oppression did not reign supreme until political 
tyranny combined with religious frenzy, still the Green 
Isle suffered the scourge of the invader since the year 



FIFTH SERMON, 185 

1 167. What land has loved Mary more, and what land 
has been the home of more sighs and moans ! Her 
monasteries were plundered, her monks butchered ; 
her priests imprisoned, exiled, or murdered ; her 
teachers banished or slaughtered ! Over the bleak hills 
and through lonely ravines they were hunted. Like 
beasts of prey, a bounty was offered for their appre- 
hension or death. The laity gathered in caves or on 
the mountains to pray and hear Mass ; and had they 
been caught, the penalty could not be greater were 
they guilty of high treason. Even during the present 
century the misery and fierce cruelty they endured 
could hardly be surpassed. Yea, even the Grand Old 
Man, Gladstone, inflicted upon this helpless people one 
of the most severe coercions which it has been the des- 
tiny of this unfortunate island to endure. But during 
all this savage torture, during pestilence and famine, 
the Irish heart was true to the Blessed Virgin and her 
Divine Son. Others would have become despondent ; 
others would have sacrificed their faith ; but they were 
constant and faithful. Did Mary comfort them in 
their sorrows ? Did she allay the grief of their hearts ? 
Did she give hope though she could not prevent the 
tyranny which crushed them ? Most assuredly she was 
with them and wept at their misfortunes, just as she 
wept when her Divine Son, mangled and bleeding from 
every pore, carried His cross to Calvary ; she was with 
them, otherwise there would not be a trace of the Old 
Faith left in Ireland. But Ireland is still Catholic, and 
the Irish heart still loves the Mother of Jesus. Yet 
during all those centuries how many a starving child, 
how many a sorrowful, gray-headed father, how many 
an anguish-oppressed mother, how many a patriot on 
his way to the scaffold, how n)any a one famishing 



186 SERMONS ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

from starvation by the wayside, has prayed in sorrow : 
Comforter of the afflicted, pray for us ? 

In England, before the breaking out of that religious 
revolt called the Reformation, the nation was Catholic. 
When the Emancipation Bill was passed there were in 
all England only about 100,000 who retained the Cath- 
olic faith. Persecution and the heads-man's axe devas- 
tated the land and drenched the soil with human blood. 
Thomas More, the renowned statesman and scholar ; 
Bishop Fisher, the celebrated churchman; Mary Queen 
of Scots, the unhappy victim of her cousin Elizabeth, — 
drank from the springs of bitterness and ingratitude. 
Because they would not forfeit their allegiance to God 
and espouse the irreligious mandates of a tyrant, the 
block was dyed with their innocent blood. But while 
in prison awaiting their terrible fate, while on the way 
to execution, how many and many a time their hearts 
said : Comforter of the afflicted, pray for us and our un- 
happy land ! Who can now contemplate the bloody 
scenes of so many years ? Who can feel the afflic- 
tion and torture which rent their hearts ? There was 
no redress for anguish, no protection against legal mur- 
der, no justice for innocence, no hope on this side of 
the grave for Catholics. Anguish was mocked ; murder 
was sanctioned by the law ; justice had disappeared 
from England, and there was no hope except that cen- 
tred in the sacred hearts of Jesus and Mary. Consider 
yourselves, if you can, persecuted ; all you have con- 
fiscated, yourselves torn from your homes and dragged 
to a dungeon, your remonstrances scoffed at, your efforts 
to defend yourselves subdued by manacles, your 
appeal for justice about to be silenced by the exe- 
cutioner's axe ; and if you do not curse your perse- 
cutors, you will turn to Mary, and from the depths of 



I 



FIFTH SERMON. 187 

\our affliction cry : Mother of the afflicted, pray for us ! 
During the Reign of Terror in France, many and 
many a soul cried to Mary for courage and relief. 
Royalty was not spared ; and in its suffering, how often 
it appealed to the Mother of sorrows for constancy 
and support. Fanaticism was mad, and in its madness 
made no distinction between sex or age. If there was 
any distinction, it was in favor of the libertine who 
betrayed the king and queen ; who dragged from their 
abodes of peace, bishop, priest, and the religious ; who 
silenced, with the guillotine, the cry for justice. Mon- 
asteries and convents were pillaged and their inmates 
murdered. The nun was torn from her asylum of 
tranquillity and prayer, and ruthlessly sacrificed to glut 
the rage of anarchy. The priest was dragged from the 
altar and slaughtered as though he were a beast of prey. 
Countless numbers of innocent people perished in the 
destruction of those awful years of madness ; and dur- 
ing those atrocious scenes how many a prayer rose to 
the Blessed Virgin from afflicted hearts. She could 
not slake the maddened thirst for innocent blood. The 
rabble was wild with the fury of hell ; but she pointed 
to the cross, and from this sacred emblem resignation 
and fortitude were drawn for every woe. She was their 
solace in the dungeon, she sustained them in their 
anguish, and she nerved them with hope on the scaffold. 
Oh ! who can estimate the cries of the heart which 
pleaded for help in those appalling days of affliction ? 
When every hope of justice was vain, when cruelty was 
enraged by the vociferations of the mob, when men 
became demons; oh, how many an innocent soul pleaded 
with Mary for deliverance ! She gave them courage 
to endure their agony ; she prayed for them and 
breathed into their tortured souls sentiments of ^n 



188 SERMONS ON THE BLESSED \TRGIN. 

eternal home where no pain exists. In all this in- 
describable misery and anguish many a sufferer prayed: 
Mother of the afflicted, help me, a poor unfortunate 
victim ! 

I shall not call your attention to the ravages of the 
Commune after the Franco-Prussian war, though the 
Bishop of Paris was shot while attempting to pacify 
the mob, and the streets of this famous city ran with 
the blood of inoffending citizens ; but request you to 
contemplate the acts of tyranny perpetrated in Germany 
after that w^ar. What reward did the German Catholics 
get for their bravery and blood from Bismarck and the 
emperor ? Let me answ-er, the reward which tyrants 
give to the weak. Germany had conquered France. 
The victorious army was camped in the City of Paris. 
All was confusion and dismay on the part of the French, 
and amidst this confusion and dismay Germany dic- 
tated to the French the terms of peace. It was an awful 
blow to the chivalrous French when in their capital and 
their regal palace the King of Prussia was declared em- 
peror of all Germany. All this was bitter medicine for 
their pride ; but who assisted the German king to vic- 
tory ; who placed him in such a powerful position ; who 
exalted him in the eyes of the nations of the world ? It 
w^as the German Catholics. Without their help France 
would not be humiliated nor the German king a dicta- 
tor. Still, how were they repaid ? By laws which 
curtailed their religious freedom, w^hich imprisoned 
their ecclesiastics, confiscated their property, and drove 
numbers into exile. This was the reward for their 
patriotism ; this the compensation for their blood ; this 
the gratitude of their king ! Instead of honor for their 
bravery, they received insults ; instead of equality 
before the law, they writhed in anguish under injustice ; 



FIFTH SERMON. 189 

instead of encouragement, they beheld with pain the 
nun banished from her tranquil cell and the priest torn 
from his people ! What anguish was there ! What 
anguish was endured by those exiles as they left their 
native land and searched for shelter in foreign lands ! 
What lives were lost on the perilous journey ; what 
sickness undergone ; what heart-aches suffered ! And in 
all this wrong and consequent wretchedness, how many 
a soul wept with prayer to the Comforter of the afflicted! 
From the depths of their troubled hearts they besieged 
Mary with supplications for patience and endurance. 
As they took the last farewell look at their peaceful 
cells, as they entered the gloomy prison walls, as they 
turned to take a last adieu of their native land, how the 
agonized heart sought the Mother of Jesus for hope 
and solace ! 

Throughout all those painful scenes to which I have 
directed your attention, how many a tear was shed, 
how many a moan rent the soul, how many a grief tor- 
tured the heart ; and every grief and every moan and 
every tear was ladened with a prayer to Mary ! Ah, 
what would Catholics do but for this Comforter of the 
afflicted ! She is their intercessor with Jesus ; she is 
their hope in affliction, their solace in every adversity. 
Her influence with Catholics explains their constancy 
in adversity, their patience under injustice, their confi- 
dence in God. Her influence banishes every thought 
of self-destruction or prevents it from assailing the 
mind ; her influence has banished sorrow and sustained 
perseverance ; her influence has been the culture of 
the confessor, the stimulus of the priesthood, the sup- 
port of Catholics in every trial ! 

Now, should we not always have a devout veneration 
and love for her who is so interested in our welfare. 



190 SERMONS ON THE BLESSED VIRGIN. 

Should we not daily recite that beautiful prayer, the 
rosary. This prayer recalls the mysteries of our faith, 
the suffering of Mary, and the love of Jesus for man- 
kind. You should teach your children to love and 
esteem her who is the Mother of Jesus ; for by loving 
her they will be drawn more intimately to her Divine 
Son. But what do I say ? Why do I instruct you to 
venerate Mary ? I am sure you do. I am certain you 
instil into the hearts of your children a love for the 
Mother of the afflicted. I have watched with joy your 
children receiving first Holy Communion ; I have seen 
their little hands clasped in prayer, as they approached 
the altar ; and wondered if they were not asking Mary 
for permission to take her Divine Son into their hearts. 
I know they prayed to her during those holy, peaceful, 
happy moments. I taught them to pray to her ; and 
I am sure their pure little hearts went out to her in 
prayer and asked her to come with Jesus into their 
hearts. Oh ! if they always remain faithful to her, they 
will ever have Jesus in their souls. But should some 
of them forget God ; should the day come when they 
will not pray to Mary, when every trace of innocence 
will have been banished from their souls ; still, 1 cannot 
think they will ever be eternally lost. The Comforter 
of the afflicted, the Refuge of sinners, will touch their 
petrified hearts, and a prayer for pardon and the sigh 
of sorrow will break forth. 

My Christian friends, it has been my purpose this 
morning to augment your devotion to the Blessed 
Virgin. To accomplish this much-desired end, we re- 
viewed a few of those terrible persecutions through 
which Catholics passed with devotion to Mary and with 
fidelity to God. Those appalling ordeals tested their 
faith ; and their persecutors discovered, after the clouds 



FIFTH SERMON. 191 

of affliction began to break, that Catholics were as 
staunch in their allegiance to God, as faithful to their 
Church, as devout to the Mother of Jesus, as before the 
painful struggle commenced. Amidst the darkness the 
grief-permeated heart naturally sought consolation 
from the Mother of sorrows. Her career on earth was 
too closely allied with sorrow not to awaken appeals 
for pity in the time of distress ; her heart, which bled 
at the feet of her Crucified Son, would it not sympathize 
with the sorrows of her children ? Her beloved Child 
died for the redemption and salvation of man ; would 
she not assist those who endured tortures of body and 
of soul rather than deny Him ? Ah ! nothing is more 
natural to the Catholic heart than to turn to Mary for 
help in the hour of need and sorrow. 

In conclusion, let us direct our hearts to her and pray : 
O Comforter of the afflicted ! protect us from the 
snares of sin. Oh ! should we be so unfortunate as to 
offend your Divine Son, lead us to repentance. Help 
us in our afflictions ; and in the last affliction of life, 
when the hand of Death presses heavily upon us, O 
Mother of sorrows ! calm our agitation and infuse 
hope into our troubled souls. 



FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME 
OF JESUS. 



A7id after eight days were accomplished that the Child 
shcmld be circumcised. His ?iame was called Jesus, which 
was called by the angel, before He zvas conceived in the 
womb. (Luke ii. — 21.) 

On the Efficacy of the Holy Name of Jesus. 

My Christian Brethren : You have traveled ah'eady 
some distance with the new year. You have made 
her acquaintance, and the journey is thus far known to 
you. Indeed, the journey of all your past life is known 
to you. This morning in thought you can, in a few 
moments, retravel the path of your whole life. From 
childhood to the present moment you can quickly glance 
and mention every important event which passes upon 
the tablets of your memory. On the panorama of 
your mind the joys and the sorrows of the past are 
painted. All these things are known to you ; but 
attempt to peer into the future, and your vision is short. 
You know not what this year will bring you. Nay, 
you are ignorant of the things .which will transpire 
before the rising of another sun. The more you try 
to sound the depths of the future, the more you are 
confounded. Bewildered by your vain attempts, you 
may ofttimes recoil at the thoughts of the morrow. In 
this perplexity the Church comes to your relief. She 
bids you have confidence in God, and points to the 



FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAIVIE OF JESUS. 198 

religious feasts of the year as mile-stones guiding you 
on your way. On one of the first of these mile-stones 
which we meet in the new year is written the name of 
this sublime feast. Your guide, the Catholic Church, 
points out to you the inscription. You read ; and 
behold, it is the great feast of the Holy Name of Jesus ! 
You pause to pray and adore ! The everlasting mem- 
ories associated with this Holy Name fill your soul, 
and you turn to Jesus with grateful, imploring hearts ! 
Thus far it is evident that you have traveled the right 
path, for hereon you find this grand feast indicative of 
the way to glorious immortality. You who have come 
to church this morning with true Catholic devotion 
to reverence the Holy Name of Jesus, give evidence 
that the compass of your souls points in the right direc- 
tion ; and Jesus during this year will be your solace and 
support ; for He has said : " I am the bread of life ; he 
that cometh to Me shall not hunger ; and he that believeth 
in Me^ shall never thirsty (John vi. — 35.) 

During the year you pass, one after another, what 
we may with some propriety call ecclesiastical mile- 
stones, on your journey heavenward. On each of these 
is inscribed the name of a great feast ; each tells of the 
journey made ; each gives hope and fortitude ; at each 
you stop to rest and give praise to God. These are 
the notable feasts of the year ; and as you celebrate 
them, one after another, you are measuring the distance 
you have made in this vale of tears. This morning 
your guide points out to you this sublime feast. You 
rest for the day. You enter this church to adore Jesus 
and revere His Holy Name. Like the kings and the 
shepherds of old, you kneel before the Babe of Bethle- 
hem in the tabernacle. You thank Him for the assist- 
ance He has given you thus far on your journey, and 



194 FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS. 

you beg Him to remain with you to the end of the 
way. 

As of old a pillar of fire directed the Israelites by 
night and dissipated the darkness, so will this Holy 
Name guide you during the gloom of adversity and 
scatter the darkness your enemies cast around about 
you. If you invoke with earnest confidence this Holy 
Name, you will never be entrapped in the meshes of 
sin, disgrace, remorse, or despair. It will be a pillar of 
light— a searchlight revealing the evil motives of 
your enemies and exposing the dangers which threaten 
you. Bad company will never seduce you, for you 
will never allow yourself to come under its influence. 
You will not disturb the neighborhood b}^ drunken 
brawls, for you will be engaged in some worthy em- 
ployment. On Sunday you will not be saturated with 
strong beverage, but pious worshippers of Jesus, Whose 
Sacred Name you so reverently venerate. In sorrow, 
disappointment, and aflfliction you will call upon Jesus, 
and He will be the Good Shepherd to you. In pros- 
perity you will not abandon Him ; for His name, by 
constant usage, is engraved upon your soul. Success, 
then, will not make fools of you nor involve you in dis- 
aster. In joy your hearts will be directed by the dis- 
cipline you acquire while worshiping Jesus. In a 
word. He will be a pillar of fire, leading you kindly and 
safely toward eternal happiness, and the reflection of 
this happiness will make you happy here. He will be 
your light, as Himself has declared in these words : "/ 
am the light of the world : he that followeth Me, walketh 
7iot in darkness, but shall have the light of life T (Luke 
viii. — 12.) 

Its efficacy has been the shield of the saints in their 
temptations. They conquered by its irresistible power. 



FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS. 195 

You can do the same. Whenever the devil tempts you 
to wrong, place yourselves under the protection of that 
unconquerable Name. It matters not how violent or 
continuous the assaults of Satan may be, Jesus is watch- 
ing over you. If you carry His Sacred Name in your 
hearts, you cannot fail. The darts of hell will fall 
harmlessly and the maliciousness of human enemies 
will not prevail. If Jesus be with you, what power can 
conquer you ? There is none. He is the Lord of hea- 
ven and earth, the Master of all creation. He is the 
Friend of the weak, the Refuge of sinners, the Model 
of the virtuous, and the Lover of mankind. He is the 
joy of the Angels, the Solace of the afflicted, and the 
Hope of the dying. To carry His badge in your hearts 
is an honor and a sign that you are His devout follow- 
ers. What an exalted privilege I What an elevated 
distinction ! What angelic dignity it is to be honored 
with the insignia of such a king ! The saints desired 
it, the martyrs cherished it, the most pious virgin 
prized it, and the most celebrated Christian scholars, 
painters, and sculptors found in it the highest honor and 
the highest reward ! 

Many are the beneficent effects of the invocation of 
the Holy Name of Jesus. During all the ages of the 
Church miracles have been performed by calling upon 
the assistance of that Name. We shall, however, men- 
tion but one, and this is as authentic as the Inspired 
Word, for it is taken from the Acts of the Apostles. 
St. Luke tells us in the third chapter that Saint Peter 
and St. John went up to the temple to pray. At that 
gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, a cripple 
was placed, that he may beg alms from those who en- 
tered. As the two Apostles approached, he entreated 
them for help. St. Peter answering, said : ** Silver and 



196 FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS. 

gold I have jione ; but zvhat I have I give thee : i?i the 
Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise a7id walk^ 
Immediately the cripple was healed, and leaped with 
joy. What joy was his when health infused into every 
fibre of his body vivacity, energy, and gratitude ! What 
miraculous efficacy there was in that Holy Name to 
impart vitality and rejoicement to the poor cripple ! 
Yea, but this was only physical infirmity. Estimate, 
if you can, the joy and peace experienced by the sin- 
ner when, by the power of Jesus, sinful disease is 
expelled from the soul ! Feel, if you are able, the 
exquisite emotions of the soul of a penitent restored 
to the friendship of God ! The penitent communes 
with Jesus, and who can describe the sentiments ex- 
pressed ? No one can. It is heart-language — the 
heart of the grateful penitent speaking to the Sacred 
Heart of Jesus. Some emotions can never be expressed 
by the human voice. You can judge somewhat of their 
intensity by the expression of the face, the glow of the 
eye, or the agitation of the whole body. Never yet 
has eloquence painted in speech the thrilling, expan- 
sive, joyous emotions which a Canova or an Angelo 
possessed when he gazed for the first time upon the 
finished product of his genius. But the emotions of an 
artist, however grand and thrilling, are inferior to the 
heart's calm, grateful, confiding emotions when it holds 
converse with the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

Physical ills have been healed by calling upon that 
Most Holy Name. These have come under the obser- 
vation of the human eye ; but what about those deep- 
seated, prostrating ills of the heart — ills which the 
sufferer dares not speak to another for fear of treach- 
ery ; ills which consume the heart, producing sadness 
and exiling joy ; ills of disappointment, of failure, of 



FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS. 197 

unrequited friendship ! Yea, how often such a heart 
has breathed forth its sorrows to the Sacred Heart of 
Jesus, and implored the Eternal Father, through the 
efficacy of that Most Holy Name, to soothe the aching 
heart and to give peace and confidence to its pitiful 
moans ! How often the troubled heart has found a 
friend in Jesus when all other friends were treacherous ! 
Oh, then, cherish the Sacred Name ! Cherish the 
Sacred Heart of Jesus for all its tenderness to woe, for 
all its help to the weak, for all its compassion for sin- 
ners. Exert yourselves to increase in your own hearts 
a great devotion for the Most Holy Name ; and en- 
courage others to foster great affection for that Name 
which is so powerful in heaven, on earth, and in hell. 
By acts of reparation endeavor to compensate for all 
the insults and ingratitude with which the Holy Name 
of Jesus is abused. Do all in your power to awaken 
and increase devotion to Him who watches so kindly 
over the human race. 

But while we contemplate the glory of this Holy 
Name and the reverence which is due it, let me ask you 
to consider for a few minutes the unkindness, the in- 
gratitude, the baseness of those who abuse, in a most 
shocking manner, that Sacred Name. It is painful to 
know that among those revilers can be found some 
Catholics. What can be thought of such ? What can 
be thought of Catholics who insultingly speak that 
Holy Name ? Who pride themselves upon the facility 
with which they misuse it ? With polluted tongues and 
more polluted hearts they hesitate not to abuse that 
Name which is revered by angels. Among the lowest 
and depraved associates they will speak that Name - 
speak it in places in which '* toughs " would not utter 
the name of their sister or mother. By their foul 



198 FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS. 

language they tell how degraded they are and how 
nearly every semblance of religion is vanished. Such 
a person glories in his base acquirements and impiously 
strives to secure the envious title of " tough. " This 
is his ambition. How deep and broad his sentiments 
must be, who labors for so great a goal ! Fie upon such 
Catholics who know not better ; or, if knowing better, 
debase themselves with such foul language. How can 
such Catholics expect mercy, protection, and temporal 
prosperity from the Saviour Whom they so wantonly 
abuse ? Yet, this very Saviour is giving them the faculty 
of speech with which they insult Him ; is giving them 
the he'alth, the vigor, and the life with which they pro- 
fane His Holy Name. How inconsistent their conduct 
with the religion they profess. They believe that Jesus 
suffered, died, and redeemed them ; still a heathen 
would not be guilty of the vituperation they vomit forth. 
Of all people. Catholics should ever manifest the great- 
est reverence for this Holy Name. They it is who 
receive the most numerous favors. They are nourished 
in a special manner by the grace of the Redemption ; 
still, those who speak the Holy Name with irreverent 
tongue, appreciate not God's blessings. These are in- 
grates who have no hearts to be thankful to their Eter- 
nal Benefactor ; their hearts are poisoned by the filthy 
fumes which emanate from their mouths ; the depths of 
the depravity to which they have sunk can be easily 
estimated by considering their vocabulary and their 
associates. It is a habit ? Then why acquire so 
disgraceful a habit ? Why not destroy it by every 
effort, since you have been so unfortunate as to form 
a habit so pernicious in its nature and so offensive to 
Almighty God ? Should you not banish from your soul 
a habit which induces you to mistreat the Holy Name 



FEAST OP THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS. 199 

of Jesus in a most shameful manner, even on your way 
to church ? Yea, some will even swear violently at the 
very door of the church. Can you conceive of any- 
thing more incompatible with the faith they say they 
profess ? What would you think of an atheist who 
would thus deport himself at the threshold of your 
church ? You would be indignant and would resent 
the outrage done your Saviour ; but remember, an in- 
sult from a professed friend is more keenly felt than 
from a stranger ; and an outrage perpetrated by a 
Catholic upon his greatest Friend and noblest Benefac- 
tor is ingratitude which is indescribable. 

Let us now inquire, where do children learn profan- 
it\-. Alas ! it cannot be denied that often they acquire 
it at home. The father has the habit and soon instils 
it into the minds of his children. Where the young 
mind should be trained to virtue, it is polluted by an 
erring father and sometimes a vicious mothei . The 
father swears at the child ; the child in turn will ere 
long swear at the father. When profane language is 
used by the parents, can the children be blamed if they 
follow the example given them from their childhood 
days ? And what is even more abominable, some par- 
ents will smile upon the child when it swears. It is so 
cute, you know. But this cuteness will some day bring 
sorrow to the parent's heart. Do not imitate such 
foolish parents ; but teach your children to revere the 
Holy Name. Chide them if they misuse it. Imbue 
their souls with a horror for any profanation of a sacred 
thing. Impart to them by your pious example a pro- 
found reverence for the Sacred Heart of Jesus ; and 
this will bring joy to your old age and constancy and 
fortitude to them when you are in your graves. 

Let every Catholic exert himself in dissipating this 



200 FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS. 

deplorable vice. Let each one begin with himself, if 
he has been accustomed to misuse the name of God. 
Let him impose some penance upon himself every time 
he transgresses the second commandment. He will 
soon master himself, and the habit will be abolished. 
In this manner he will encourage others to do likewise, 
while his own conversion will bespeak the veneration 
he has for the sacred Name of Jesus. 

Our Saviour tells us that whatever we ask the Father 
in His Name, will be granted to us. Let us then be- 
seech the Eternal Father to give us the grace to revere 
always the Most Holy Name of His Divine Son. Let 
us entreat Him that, in the last moments of our lives, 
we may pronounce the Holy Name of Jesus with con- 
fidence and joy ; that the last words upon the dying 
lips of each of us may be : " Jesus, into your hands I 
commend my spirit " ; and the first to be heard in eter- 
nity : " You have asked the Father in My Name ; I shall 
now grant it to you ; you have been faithful children 
on earth, now enter into the endless joy prepared for 
you." . 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY - 
FIRST SERMON. 



And the third day there zuas a marriage in Cana of Galilee 
(St. John ii. — 2.) 

On the Destructiveness of Divorce. 
The Sacred Scriptures, my dear brethren, give us, in 
this chapter of St. John, an account of the most distin- 
guished marriage feast ever recorded in history or 
known to the human race. Why so extraordinary ? 
you may ask ; and add : ** It was not a wedding of the 
nobility, but of peasants. What was it compared to 
those feasts of wedlock where wealth is neither limited 
nor spared, where magnificence combines with power 
to make the festive occasion one of merriment unre- 
strained and pomp unexcelled ? What was it to those 
gorgeous fetes of royal palaces where heirs to thrones 
plight their vows of matrimony ; where all that opulence 
and splendor can impart are strained that the feast 
may be one of joy and grandeur." You who are so im- 
pressed by munificence and royalty, forget that Jesus 
was present at the marriage feast of Cana. It was His 
presence, together with that of His Blessed Mother and 
the disciples, which bestows so notable a distinction 
upon this festival related by St. John. All other wed- 
dings sink into insignificance when compared with the 
one of Cana of Galilee, just as all other persons and 

201 



202 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 

their affluence are comparatively nothing in the con- 
sideration which distinguishes between men and the 
Son of God. The brilliancy of marriage is transitory ; 
but the recollection of that one rendered celebrated by 
the Saviour of the world, will continue as long as the 
Catholic Church. The union of Adam and Eve was 
unquestionably blessed by Almighty God ; but in Cana 
Jesus was there in person, and sanctified the feast by 
the performance of His first miracle. 

That this marriage is unequalled on account of the 
distinguished guests, Jesus, Mary, and the disciples, 
none of you will deny ; yet the purpose of our Divine 
Lord upon that occasion was of still greater import- 
His intention was to set the seal of His approval upon 
Christian wedlock, and sanctify it by the mysterious 
action of His power as manifested in the transubstan- 
tiation of water into wine. He thus teaches thesacred- 
ness of marriage and the divine regard entertained for 
the contracting parties. From this miracle, and also 
from the nature of wedlock, you can easily adduce the 
vast importance of matrimony. In the beginning God 
created man that he may inhabit the earth for a time 
and heaven for eternity. Parents die, their offspring 
survive for a time ; but these in turn are doomed to the 
grave. In this manner the human race increases in 
number until society is formed and states and nations 
constituted. The better the offspring is trained to habits 
of morality and religion, the more civilized and pros- 
perous the nation. Without such training there can 
be no permanent advancement in those things which 
cooperate in promoting a nation's true greatness ; 
without the fostering care of honest parents and Chris- 
tian education, the child will disturb society and haz- 
ard his eternal welfare. Hence, it follows that matri- 



FIRST SERMON. 203 

mony is not only beneficial to the state, but that 
Christian marriage is indispensable to its greatness and 
perpetuity. Bound together as they are by the holy 
vows of matrimony, Catholic parents understand they 
are under obligations to each other, to their children, 
to society, and to God. Religion directs them in the 
education of their children ; and parental affection, sus- 
tained b\' Almighty God's aid, induces them to toil 
for the temporal and everlasting interests of their off- 
spring. The Church blesses their vows and God be- 
stows His graces upon them. The Divine Author of the 
New Dispensation raised the contract of matrimony to 
the sacredness of a sacrament. The contracting parties, 
if they are Catholics, receive the benedictions of their 
Church and the blessings of heaven. In this manner 
their condition is inestimably exalted, their sustenance 
in bearing the trials of life more stable, their contribu- 
tion to the welfare of society more ennobling, their 
own happiness and that of their children more secured. 
Tertullian beautifully describes Christian marriage thus : 
" How can we find words to describe the happiness of 
that marriage which the Church joins together ; and the 
oblation confirms ; and the blessings seal ; the angels 
report ; the Father ratifies," 

Considering then the sacredness of the nuptial contract 
and its incomputable effects upon the destinies of the 
family and the nation, you must acknowledge that 
great praise is due the Catholic Church for her zealous 
guardianship of this sacrament. Any compact between 
man and woman to live together as husband and wife, 
which is dissolvable, is deficient as a nuptial contract, 
and is destructive to the happiness of the family and 
the life of a nation. It is deficient, for our Divine Lord 
said ; " IVha^, therefore, God hath joined together, let not 



204 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 

mail put asunder r (Math. xix. — 6.) And for the same 
reason it is destructive to society, because Jesus 
came to establish a more perfect society than any 
which had previously existed. He laid down prin- 
ciples for the government and guidance of society, and 
any violation of these principles will engender ruin. 
An observance of them produces peace, prosperity, 
and permanence ; but ignore them, and the decline of a 
nation's greatness begins. It is unwise to annul or 
frustrate His law. No one loves the human race as 
did He. No one knows the wants of society better ; 
nor is any one so capable to legislate for its advance- 
ment and endurance. Then, why not follow His legis- 
lation ? Why not abide by the legislation of Him Who 
is all-wise, and Who died that society may attain to its 
highest development on earth and its endless happi- 
ness in heaven ? 

Jesus declares : " What, therefore, God hath joined 
together^ let not man put asunder!' But State legis- 
lation says in its enactments : '' We are greater than 
God, therefore we will defeat His design ; we are 
wiser than God, therefore we will have a new decree ; 
we are more competent to direct society, therefore we 
will annul the contract of matrimony." The wisdom 
of modern legislation, in this regard, has been tested, 
and the pernicious consequences are evident. Indeed, 
a great and true statesman would have foreseen these 
direful results, and would have prevented them by 
maintaining the law of God. He would know from 
histor}' that the abuses of marriage life are unerring 
signs of a nation's decay, and his own judgment would 
declare that total divorce is foremost among those 
abuses. His sagacity, then, would induce him to 
exert all his influence against any legislation favoring 



FIRST SERMON. 205 

divorce ; and his love of country would urge him to 
educate his fellow citizens to condemn and abhor an 
abuse so ruinous to their country's welfare. This is 
true patriotism ; for love of one's country inflames the 
patriot with a desire to perpetuate his country's 
strength, its morality, and its religion. Patriotism does 
not onl}' consist in braving the terrors of the battle-field, 
but also in promoting the growth and endurance of 
the nation. A sturdy nation will overcome in time the 
failure of its military forces ; but it cannot endure if 
the life of the nation is destroyed by destroying the 
sources whence that life springs. To protect the sacred- 
ness of marriage is, therefore, the most exalted patriot- 
ism ; and it conforms, too, with the will of the Creator. 
While a nation corresponds to the law of God, its 
patriotism lives, its vitality is preserved, its greatness 
increases, and its influence for good is experienced in 
all parts of the earth. 

We have said that divorce is destructive to the fam- 
ily, to the nation, and to civilization. Proofs sufficient 
are visible to sustain this assertion ; because whatever 
ruins the family, strikes at the life of the nation and 
undermines civilization. If, then, you reflect upon the 
nature of wedlock and its consequences, you must agree 
that whatever destroys the sacredness and indissol- 
ubility of marriage, scatters the members of the family, 
exposes them to temptation, annihilates parental and 
filial affections, breaks down the barriers against vice 
and crime, breeds corruption and immorality, and ex- 
pels the religious sentiments of the heart. When the 
parents are not united by the inseverable bonds of 
affection and religion, will the parents love their chil- 
dren, or the children love their parents ? Grant to such 
parents a bill of divorce, and what becomes of the 



'20(5 SECOND SUNDAY APTEK EPIPHANY. 

children ? The parents have been setting a ruinous 
example. They hate each other ; they have formed 
unholy alliances with others ; and from these alliances 
evolve anger, quarrelling, unchaste conduct, scandalous 
press reports, and finally divorce or murder. What is 
the effect of all this on the parents themselves and 
upon their children ? Is this the moral and religious 
aspect of marriage life which brings peace to the fam- 
ily, Christian education to the children, and stability 
to the nation ? No ; such conduct banishes peace, dis- 
perses the children, and hews down the pillars of the 
state. 

Divorce law, as it now exists in our land, is one of 
the most demoralizing evils of our age. Wife or hus- 
band can fabricate some excuse, and a'bill of divorce is 
granted. If there is wealth to support the application, 
no difficulty in procuring the bill need be apprehended. 
If one resists the granting of the bill, the resistance is 
in vain ; for money can achieve in our courts almost 
what it demands, and the innocent party must endure 
the wrong which he or she is unable to prevent. But 
even if neither party is innocent, a total separation 
should not be granted. Yet divorce is easily obtained, 
and thousands are granted every year, notwithstanding 
the teachings of our Saviour, Who says : " Whosoever 
shall p2it azvay his wife a7id marry a?tother, cormnitteth 
adultery against her. A?id, if the wife shall put azvay her 
husbajid and be married to another, she committeth adtdtery^ 
(Mark x. — ii and 12). But our legislation decrees 
otherwise. It assumes the position and prerogatives of 
Almighty God, ignores the command of God and the 
teachings of the Sacred Scriptures, and grants license 
to the wayward to lead shameful, sinful lives. This 
kind of legislation indicates how little resfard is now 



FIRST SERMON. 207 

entertained for the Bible, directs attention to the 
low state of morality, and bespeaks the indifference of 
law-makers for the chastity and stability of society. 
Such legislators are traitors to their country's weal. 
Their laws will give birth to disasters in comparison 
with which invading armies are harmless things. The 
results of this sort of legislation are already partially 
seen in the horde of tramps who infest the country, beg" 
ging by day and robbing by night. Jails and reforma- 
tories and penitentiaries are crowded by inmates who, 
generally speaking, were cast upon the waves of life at 
an early age. Let this predicament continue for a cen- 
tury — each year bringing forth new recruits and increas- 
ing in geometrical ratio — and you will have mobs in 
every town and city, which in a time of civil and polit- 
ical disturbance will produce scenes as bloody and as 
horrible as Paris ever witnessed during the Reign of 
Terror. 

These unfortunate children are punished for violations 
of law, which could be shunned, had the children's par- 
ents lived as a Christian husband and wife should. The 
parents are separated by divorce and the children's ex- 
istence thrown among the vicious and corrupting. The 
consequences are not hard to perceive. They imbibe 
the degenerate spirit of their environments and develop 
into pests of society. Talk with them, and you will 
discover that in most cases the poison was inoculated 
in early life. Their Christian education was neglected, 
but an education of deviltry was imparted and readily 
acquired. They knew no school except the school of 
vice and sin. They had no training except that which 
rogues and drunkards bestow. They had no parents 
except those who despised the Divine Law, hated virtue, 
and wooed licentiousness. These children are doomed 



208 SECOND SUNDAY ATTER EPIPHANY. 

to a life of wretchedness ; but the cause of their de- 
pravity should be sought in the recklessness of their 
parents, and in the laws of divorce. Still, the number 
of divorces is amazingly multiplying, and with almost 
every divorce case some children lose their homes and 
are made wanderers on the face of the earth. If this is 
wisdom in legislation, then we know not what you call 
crime. These would-be Solons and Lycurguses wish us 
to understand that they legislate for the welfare of the 
state ; but, in fact, their divorce laws are fraught with 
disorder, vast expense, and ruin. 

It maybe said that these persons cannot live happily 
together, and, therefore, separation is indispensable to 
peace. Very well ; let them separate, but forbid them 
to marry again. This method will obviate the difficulty 
suggested ; and what is more, there will not be so many 
partial divorces as there are now total divorces. The 
husband will not then be squandering his affection on 
some bewitching damsel who seeks the destruction of 
his home ; nor will the wife be showering smiles and 
endearments upon some galvanized devil whom, by 
some fatality, she Imagines she loves more than her 
own husband. This propensity to evil will be de- 
stroyed, and with it the fruitful handmaid of divorce. 

But some will maintain that this partial divorce can- 
not compensate the Innocent party. It cannot be 
denied but that often only one, either the husband or 
wife, is guilty ; therefore to restrain the innocent party 
from remarrying, would be inflicting punishment on in- 
nocence. It must be conceded, in the first place, in 
refutation of this argument, that God, the Creator and 
Preserver of all things, still rules, and His laws still are 
in force. His edict on this matter Is : " W/iaf, there- 
fore, God hath joined together, let not ma?t p2it as7indery 



FIEST SEKMON. 209 

This is the mandate of heaven, and it is superior to all 
human legislation and all human arguments. In the 
second place, you are compelled to admit that the 
particular grievance of an individual is more than 
compensated by the general good obtained from a strict 
observance of the Divine Law. Listen to what St. Au- 
gustine, a great Doctor of the Church, has to say on this 
subject : '' This excellence of matrimony is threefold : 
faithfulness, offspring, the sacrament. In faithfulness 
it is required that neither act in violation of the mar- 
riage tie ; in the offspring, that it is received in love, 
fed with kindness, educated religiously ; and in the 
sacrament, that the wedlock be not dissolved, and 
that neither, if divorced, be united to another." To 
this view of matrimony all men of thought will sub- 
scribe, because it has its sanction and is based upon 
the decree of the Eternal Lawgiver. It protects the 
child, instructs the parents, respects the sacredness of 
the sacrament, and secures for the state a healthy, well- 
trained population. 

Moreover, are not Catholics as happy and contented 
in wedded life, though they abide by the law, as others 
who are restless and seeking for new affections and 
new alliances. The few Catholics who seek for a divorce 
afford one of the best arguments for the indissolu- 
bility of marriage ; for these few are known by their 
scandalous lives. In fact, who are those, as a rule, 
who apply for a divorce ? Are they not noted for 
sinful sensations ? Do they live Christian lives ? 
Is their conduct edifying ? They may desire notoriety ; 
but such notoriety a faithful Christian and a good 
citizen would detest. Again, when married parties 
understand they cannot obtain a divorce with the 
privilege of remarrying, they will avoid those tempta- 



210 8EC0ND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 

tions which cause so much ruin ; they will accommodate 
themselves to the failings of their mates ; they will 
bear each other's burdens ; they will entreat God's 
assistance in the battles of life ; and be the nobler, the 
better, the happier for never dreaming of a divorce. 
Where there is no divorce the children w\\\ be trained 
to love and serve God; they will not be exposed to the 
wiles of the street nor to the scandalous example of 
bad, unchaste parents ; but will be educated in good 
schools, trained by the elevating influences of a pure 
home, will be devout Christians, and sober, intelligent, 
honest citizens. In this manner they will not only be 
useful, energetic members of society, but will also be 
complying with the will of God and storing up treasures 
in heaven. 

When Catholics are about to enter into this holy state 
of matrimony, let them prepare by prayer and the 
reception of the Sacraments of Penance and the Holy 
Eucharist ; let them approach this state of life aware of 
its responsibilities; let them be in sanctifying grace 
when they plight their vows to be faithful on that jour- 
ney which ends only at the grave. By this Christian 
preparation they will merit the benediction of heaven ; 
and by being thus docile children of the Church, they 
will ever derive consolation from the purity of their in 
tention and the rectitude of their motives. On account 
of their compliance with the will of their Saviour, He 
will comfort them in their trials, will wipe away the tears 
of grief, and turn their sorrows into joys. 



SECOND SERMON. 



Jesus also was invited and His disciples to the marriage, 
(St. John ii — 2.) 

On Scandalous Matrimonial Alliances. 

My Dear Brethren : This invitation to Jesus, His 
Mother, and the disciples to attend the nuptial feast 
at Cana, appears indeed to be providential. Jesus 
came on earth to teach mankind what things are bene- 
ficial for its welfare on earth and necessary for its eter- 
nal happiness. He therefore accepts the invitation? 
and by His presence imparts dignity and sacredness to 
the feast. He does more than this ; for He teaches 
thereby the sacred respect due to the Sacrament of 
Matrimony. By His appearance at the marriage He 
impresses upon the mind of every Christian the high 
esteem which Heaven deigns to bestow upon those 
who, in a Christian manner, enter into the marriage 
state. He teaches the sanctity of wedded life, the 
gravity of this sacred contract, the careful and pious 
considerations which should precede every nuptial 
feast. Would that every Catholic weighed prudently 
the sacredness of this sacrament ! 

In the Old Law marriage was a solemn contract 
among the Jews. Our Saviour gave it the seal of His 
approbation, infused divine grace into it, and made it 
a sacrament. This sacrament gives grace to the recip- 
ients, if they worthily receive it, to bear the anxieties 
and troubles of marriage life ; to train their children to 

211 



212 SECOND SUNDAY AI^TER EPIPHANY. 

observe and obey the laws of God ; to live together in 
holy wedlock until the end of life. There must be no 
thought of divorce for the purpose of forming new 
matrimonial alliances. There must be no squander- 
ing of nuptial affections upon another. Each must 
live for the other until the Angel of Death will sever 
what God has joined together. Marriage is indissol- 
uble,—'* IV/iat, therefore, God hath joined together, let no 
mail put asunder. " (St. Mark x. — 9.) 

In our age, how many disregard this divine injunc- 
tion. The divorce courts are busy annuling the work 
of God. The spirit of Christianity is being displaced 
by the spirit of lawlessness. The pernicious decrees 
of civil legislatures censure the mandate of heaven 
and despise the Eternal Lawgiver. Man pretends to 
know what conduces more to the healthy perpetuity 
of society, than the Creator of the human race. Jesus, 
the Saviour of society, says : ** What, therefore, God 
hath joined together, let no man put asujider ; " but our 
legislative assemblies and our courts ignore the v^illof 
heaven, and ruthlessly rend asunder, or rather attempt 
to rend asunder, the matrimonial contract. In this 
age of progress very few things are so progressive as 
the divorce courts. The destructive effects of this 
inconstancy are visible in society ; but the future will 
develop the cancer in a more alarming degree. If its 
effects are now seen in the reformatories and jails of our 
land, what will accommodate the ruffians of society in 
the new century ? 

Much of the cause of this social disturbance is to be 
sought and found in the madness with which some form 
matrimonial alliances. They do not consult God. 
They do not pray to Him for guidance. Why, they 
are about as ignorant of God as the untutored savag-e. 



SECOND SERMON. 213 

Speak to them of the necessity of consulting God, and 
they smile at your credulity. They think you belong 
to some age long since passed. But it is this very reck- 
lessness which has cursed society in former times, and 
undoubtedly will bring retribution again. Rashness 
collects the fuel which devastates nations. The viola- 
tion of God's law will not go unpunished. 

Now it appears to me that thus far you agree with me- 
If you. do, what then must you think of Catholics who 
spurn God's law by entering the marriage state in an 
un-Catholic manner. They despise the teachings of 
their Church ; they contemn Almighty God ; they bring 
disgrace upon themselves and institute a destructive 
example. They know better ; but all the pious exhorta- 
tions of early life, every Christian lesson ever learned, 
every affectionate tie of kindred is swept aside by the 
irresistible current of their uncontrolled passions. 
They enter into the contract of matrimony before a 
squire. By this madness they debase themselves ; 
they belittle themselves in the eyes of all judicious 
people. Protestants who have any regard for them- 
selves would not dream of subjecting themselves to 
such debasement. The Catholic who acts thus, has a 
very puny estimate of himself or herself ; and still I 
think that such regard themselves at their full value ; 
for in my estimation, in the estimation of all prudent, 
God-fearing people, they are not worth very much. 

But, let me ask them would they take their children 
to a squire to have them baptized ? If they were sick, 
would they send for the squire to administer to them 
the Last Sacrament of the Church ? Awful insult ! 
they would retort. Yet, is not matrimony a sacrament 
just as well as baptism or extreme unction ? If it is so 
preposterous to have a justice of the peace perform 



214 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 

the rites of the other sacraments, what excuse can they 
offer for going to him in the case of the Sacrament of 
Matrimony ? If it is an outrageous offense in the one 
case, is it not as outrageous in the other ? And what 
seems so very strange in the matter, is that rarely does 
a Catholic young man stoop to such debasement. It 
is usually a Catholic girl who has so little respect for 
herself and so little regard for the sacredness of this 
sacrament. 

Now, observe this Catholic maiden as she stands be- 
fore a justice of the peace to plight her vow. The bride- 
groom is of some sect or another, we suppose. There 
they stand. The squire officiates in the capacity which 
an unwise law bestows upon him. The contracting 
parties give utterance to a pledge which makes them 
man and wife. The cold formality is ended ; and the 
Catholic maiden has dishonored herself, spurned the 
law of her Church, heaped disgrace upon her family, 
and created a nefarious example ! When she spoke the 
words which made her a wife, by that very expression 
she manifested her madness ; her headlong determina- 
tion to follow the bent of her un-Catholic propensities ! 
By the rude romantic she may be termed a heroine ; 
but her heroism is rashness, her conduct disgraceful, 
her boldness appalling ! A devout Catholic would 
shrink from the thought of giving such scandal ; would 
pray that ere such calamity befell her, the grave would 
receive her lifeless form into its repulsive embrace. 
Would that her guardian angel had accosted this wil- 
ful girl ere she took the final step which must generate 
misery for her ! Yea, her good angel assuredly plead- 
ed with her often, begged of her to listen, urged her to 
think of the past, — of the time she made her first con- 
fession ; of that happy morning when she received the 



SECOND SERMON. 215 

Saviour for the first time in Holy Communion ! Many 
an endearing scene was awakened by her guardian 
angel. Even her madness was contrasted with her 
innocence when she knelt alone in prayer, a younger 
but a wiser girl. The sorrow of her parents arising 
from so deplorable event ; the estrangement from God ; 
the insult to her Church, of which she was once a pious 
child, — all these and more, too, indeed, were depicted to 
her soul. She would not hearken to the remonstrances 
of her good angel, and reluctantly he withdrew, at the 
threshold of that office, from one with whom he could 
no longer abide. Is this not a spectacle to make her 
angel weep ; to cause every good Catholic to lament ; 
to bow her pastor's head in grief ; to render her parents 
frantic ? Pause, then, I say to you, before you ever 
imitate so awful an example ! Nay ; rather avoid the 
company which could tempt you to such dishonor and 
to such wretchedness ! 

Consider now the praiseworthy spirit of good Cath- 
olics. They notify their pastor in time. An announce- 
ment of their approaching marriage is made in their 
parish church. A day is appointed for the nuptial 
feast. On that day they prepare themselves for a de- 
vout reception of the Sacrament of Matrimony ; they 
go to confession. In the Tribunal of Penance the grace 
of Jesus sanctifies their souls. The)- are united in mar- 
riage with the flower of innocence in their hearts and 
the blessings of the Church upon their heads. A 
nuptial Mass is celebrated, and in this Mass they invite 
Jesus and His Mother and the disciples to their feast. 
In this Mass they receive Jesus into their hearts, to 
bless them, to sanctify them, and to crown their festiv- 
ities by His adorable presence. During this Mass 
how many an ardent prayer is whispered to heaven by 



216 SECOND SUNDAY AITER EMPHANY. 

the contracting parties ! How they besiege the throne 
of God with their fervent appeals for divine grace, for 
His approval, for His blessing ! What thoughts arise in 
those two hearts ! What expectancy for the future ! 
What anxiety, what hope, what faith ! For weeks, for 
months they have prayed that God may counsel them ; 
that He may ward off every danger in the future ; that 
He may send His angel of peace to dwell with them. 
Noble, Christian aspirations have filled their souls and 
directed them to this new state of life. At the nuptial 
Mass friends are present, praying for them.. Many a 
pious emotion arises from friendly hearts to heaven for 
them. Their marriage is a Catholic marriage ; surely 
Jesus is present at their feast. 

Contrast the cold, barren, un-Catholic union before a 
squire and this edifying, solemn, Christian wedding, and 
draw your own inferences. To me the former appears 
a mockery of a sacred thing ; the latter elevating, 
grand, and impressive, with the impressiveness and 
grandeur of religion and the sanction of heaven. The 
marriage vows are ratified in heaven, and the benedi- 
tions of the Church go with them into the perilous, 
unknown future. 

For her who becomes a wife by the authority of a 
justice of the peace, what joy can her wedding day ever 
bring her ? When memory reverts to that occasion, 
what holy aspiration can arise from that scene, to mel- 
low her declining years ? In sickness and in adversity, 
in sorrow and in doubt, what ennobling sustenance can 
spring from the recollections of that deplorable 
event ? None — none can come as guardian angels to 
bid her hope ; none to console her troubled heart ; 
none to soothe the sight of grief, disappointment, and 
remorse. 



SECOND SERMON. 217 

Yea, but the Catholic who is married according to 
the will of God can ever draw consolation and joy 
from her nuptial feast. The memory of that happy 
day will dispel many a cloud of sorrow, will banish 
from the heart many a grief. That happy day, like a 
perennial spring, will, in all the vicissitudes of life, 
give joy and solace. In trouble she can look back on 
that day, and from its memories cull the flower of peace. 
In every success or disappointment there is a joy in 
the remembrance of that glorious morning when she 
invited, with pure heart, Jesus to her nuptial feast. 
Will that same Saviour abandon her to affliction who 
put her young trust in Him ? Will He be unmindful 
of her supplications in the hours of gloom or dismay ? 
No ; surely her divine Nuptial Guest will ever be her 
friend. 

Then I would say to you, were you contemplating 
matrimony, to prepare for that feast as devout Cath- 
olics should. Ask God to direct you in the choice of 
partners for life. Enter that holy state in peace with 
your God and with honor to yourselves. Let that day 
be one of joy and peace. Do not mar it with anything 
which would dimmer the luster ^nd the beauty and 
the holiness of its memories ! 



THIRD SERMON 



Be Tiot wise in your own conceit. (St. Paul to the Rom- 
ans, xii. — 16.) 

The PeRxXiciousness of Conceit. 

My Dear Brethren : In this chapter St. Paul im- 
parts many lessons of wisdom, which it is profitable for 
us to consider carefully. Since it is impossible, how- 
ever, to meditate upon them all this morning, let us 
select one from this chapter of profound Christian 
thought. A very beneficial topic for reflection is con- 
tained in the closing sentence of to-day's epistle — ''Be 
not wise in your own conceit!'' This is a lesson which 
every one of us should take to heart and remember as 
long as we live ; nor should we only simply remember 
it, but we should examine ourselves that we may know 
whether we are dupes or not, of this injurious folly. 
Like many another fault of which we are possessed 
without our knowing it, we may be slaves of conceit and 
still be ignorant that our manner is so deformed and 
our judgment so defective. Indeed, the excessively 
conceited person puts high value upon himself, and 
his manner and his judgment are not only the standard 
for him, but should be for all others. Probably he is 
not aware of his conceit, and would be angry were you 
to tell him of this weakness. Truly the poet has spoken 
wisely : 

" To see oursels as others see us, 

It wad frae mony a blunder free us^ 

And foolish notion.' —(Burns.) 

218 



THIRD SERMON. 219 

Conceit cannot be ascribed exclusively to any par- 
ticular grade of society. It is seen sometimes among 
the wealthy, sometimes among the lowly. It is found 
among those who are plodding along the avenues of 
science ; and also it is no stranger to those who pur- 
sue an opposite course. This nevertheless is true, that 
the scholar is never conceited. Erudition and conceit 
are enemies. One displaces the other. They are not 
friends ; they never were, nor will they ever be. In- 
deed, the same can be said of a possessor of great 
wealth acquired by himself. He never could have 
gathered so many shekels had he wasted as much time 
in airing nonsense as the conceited do. He w^s neces- 
sarily industrious, and industry is a toe ot conceit. It 
is not those distinguished for great powers of the body 
and mind who are victims of this malajdy. It is the 
superficial, the vain, the proud, who fancy they are 
perfection because they possess some wealth ; that 
they are models because they have some, or imagine 
they have some, physical superiority ; that they are 
geniuses because they have achieved some little noto- 
riety within a small circle of sycophants. Wherever 
conceit parades itself, there is not much true greatness. 
Insignificant wealth and noticeably inferior talent may 
amuse themselves by trying to impose their self-created 
importance upon you ; but able men and women hav^ 
no time for such nonsense. Industrious wealth is sober 
and genius is humble. Conceit is ever telling of its 
efforts, of its successes, of its conquests. Nor are these 
victories usually to be found in the path of Christian 
virtue, but down the steep ways of sin. 

Let us now, my Christian friends, consider some ob- 
stacles presented by conceit to temporal and spiritual 
advancement. But let me suggest that you do pot 



220 SECOND SUNDAY AFTEB EPIPHANY. 

allow yourselves to confound self-respect, confidence, 
or laudable ambition with conceit. A moment's reflec- 
tion will show us that conceit has a different visage and 
a different manner from those. Self-respect protects 
you from slums, rowdies, and roguery. It should also 
impel to industry and honor. Self-confidence is the 
ballast of the soul, and without it a person, though he 
may possess great parts, is unstable, tremulous, and 
poorly equipped for the storms of life. Finally, ambi- 
tion is the fuel of the soul and must be regulated. 
Mad ambition, like a conflagration, fiercely consumes 
until it burns itself out ; but moderate, honest ambition 
tempers the soul as the forgeman does the steel. These 
are not the whimsical, airy, boastful evaporations of 
conceit. They are made of stern stuff, and impart 
honesty, activity, and enterprise. Conceit is the off- 
spring of an undiscerning mind ; it is nourished by 
vanity and stimulated by pride. 

In the affairs of life, it is evident that conceit is an in- 
surmountable barrier to advancement. The excessively 
conceited person closes his eyes to the attainments 
of the great in other ages, and considers that there is 
not, at the present, anything deserving of his notice 
which he does not understand. Many of the grandest 
achievements of mighty minds are to him only follies 
or whims of overestimated ability. Often he ignores 
the past ; but dotes upon the vanities of the present 
age. Everything of great worth in any age he does 
not appreciate, while he frequently extols the in- 
significant, the erroneous, and the exaggerated. At all 
events, everything colliding with his views are inferior 
or nonsensical. Falling to weigh with care the persons 
and things around him, he never ascends to those great 
heights to which others attained by incessant toil and 



THIBD SERMON. 221 

comprehensive, humble thought. He knows how to 
make money better than anyone else, still he never 
amasses a fortune ; he is a more profound thinker than 
Copernicus or Newton, yet he never gives to the world 
any astounding discoveries ; he grasps in his ponderous 
cranium every other body's business, but neglects his 
own. There is not anything about which he is not con- 
versant, and he is ever ready to talk infallibly upon all 
subjects. He knows everything — except to know him- 
self, to know how to learn, and to know how to esti- 
mate others fairly. 

It is not difficult to see that such a person is weak 
and will never make any progress until he begins to 
examine himself and appreciate the sterling worth of 
his contemporaries, together with the instructive lives 
of those admirable prodigies of ages now dead. In 
the student, scientist, historian, and philosopher, con- 
ceit can have no place, if these would arrive at pre- 
eminence. It is only little minds which are conceited. 
This is not only true of those who trudge up the steep 
to the shrine of literary knowledge, but also of those 
who labor in the common avenues of life. Conceit is 
detrimental to everyone and beneficial to no one. In 
a man laying claim to literary distinction, It is obnox- 
ious. It blinds his judgment, makes his criticism a 
farce, offends others by his vanities, and helps not him- 
self. His conceit not only retards his researches, but 
prevents them ; for he does not see anything worthy 
of his investigation which he has not already grappled. 
Such a person will never attain to pre-eminence as long 
as he remains inflated with his own importance. The 
same is true of the mechanic, farmer, or business man. 
Conceit is not found in the highways of prosperity. 
Arduous, unremitting toil is what earns distinction and 



222 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 

profit. Nor should partial success ; nay, even the 
most consummate success should not induce anyone 
to glory in the achievements of intellect or muscle. 
Others with the same resources might have accom- 
plished greater things. The consciousness of labor 
well done, of efforts well directed, with their attending 
success, is commendable ; but this is not conceit, nor 
is such consciousness boastful of its triumphs. Indeed, 
vast ability is ever humble, and appears not to realize 
its own greatness. Probably it is too busy or too mod- 
est to pay much attention to itself. 

You have undoubtedly observed that conceit is gen- 
erally expressive of the lack of experience. The one 
who enters the contest in any sphere of human en- 
deavor, will, if he remain therein, be cured of his fan- 
ciful boastings. In the struggle the conceited will 
go down — only the sturdy will survive. For a time he 
may make some display ; but in the tussle of endur- 
ance you will discover him a braggart. We have in- 
timated that conceit is more often found in the inex- 
perienced than in those who have contested in the 
gladitorial struggle for their daily bread. Youth is 
more conceited than matured manhood. It has its 
follies, and it thinks these are wisdom. A son or 
daughter in early life sometimes imagines that his or 
her parents know nothing ; but when these young per- 
sons reach fifty, they consider their parents were very 
wise. If they profit by the experience of their parents, 
they will escape many of the perplexing obstacles en- 
countered by the foolish. In early life the son would 
say that the father was behind the times and the daugh- 
ter would Indicate what she termed the whims and 
severity and care of the mother. Age convinces both 
son and daughter of the wisdom of their parents ; and 



THIED SERMON. 223 

that son or daughter is wise and not conceited who 
learns from the experience of others. 

Now, it must be quite evident to you that conceit 
does not obstruct more the avenues of temporal pros- 
perity than it impedes spiritual progress. The Holy 
Bible in no place commends conceit ; but, on the con- 
trary, condemns and rebukes the conceited. " Hast 
thou seen a man wise in his own conceits ? " says the Book 
of Proverbs (xxvi. — 12), " there shall be more hope for a 
fool than for him.'" 

The conceited are thus severely censured by the In- 
spired Writer ; and it follows that there must be a rea- 
son for such a scathing condemnation . If you search for 
the reason, you will easily enough discern it. You will 
observe that conceit is antagonistic to piety ; for it pre- 
vents growth in holiness, and between it and Christian 
perfection there is no reconciliation. Conceit harbors 
not Christian virtue, but considers virtue the compliment 
of weak minds. If you seek for the guardian angel of 
Christian virtue, you must go to humility. This is the 
queen of Christian effort, and conducts you successfully 
from the marvellous existence of the smallest atom 
of matter to the God of all this wondrous creation. 
But conceit knows more than all the virtues can impart, 
and in its excesses crys out : '* There is no God." 

Is it not conceit which prompts the agnostic to declare 
he will not believe anything except what he can analyze 
in the laboratory of his own poor brain ? Is it not conceit 
which renders the atheist so foolish as to say : " There 
is no God " ? It cannot be denied but that it is the 
bombast soul of conceit which nerves them to make 
such awful assertions. Were the agnostic depending 
alone upon his own powers of body and mind to unveil 
the secrets and mysteries of nature, his knowledge 



224 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 

would be circumscribed to pitiful limitations. Of the 
consequences of things he may have some cognition ; of 
things and their causes he is as helpless as a child. He 
is a vain, arrogant, conceited dictator who has grasped 
all the knowledge of the sum of things and reduced 
them to their last analysis ! He is as shallow as he 
is pompous. He is remarkably profound when he 
treats of, " the warfare between Science and Religion," 
and imagines that sane people will accept the vapors of 
his muddy brain for the deductions of true scientific 
research. He boasts of his independence of thought, 
while his weak intellect is bafHed by the smallest 
things around him. He would not be hampered by an 
acknowledgment of God's existence or by belief in 
the divine Revelation to man. Yet without these he 
could not know his own origin or destiny, and without 
belief in them he makes a fool of himself. With all his 
grand mental acquisitions he is unable to explain the 
intercourse between his glib tongue and that wonder- 
ful forge in which his ponderous thoughts are fashioned, 
You perceive that the agnostic and atheist are in a 
very sad condition ; for the former admits he does 
not know what he is talking about, while the latter has 
no knowledge of what he is talking about. Agnosticism 
means ignorance ; and no one can talk about that of 
which he has no knowledge. The atheist says there 
is no God, and consequently no divine Revelation. 
He talks fluently about that which in his estimation 
has no existence ; and therefore makes a fool of himself 
in talking about that which he claims does not exist ; 
or in other words, he makes a fool of himself in talking 
about nothing. This is the wisdom of the agnostic 
and atheist ; and still they think they have a bond 
and mortgage upon all knowledge. Their wisdom is a 
most exquisite specimen of conceit. You note they 



THIRD SERMON. 225 

abuse things of which they profess ignorance, and 
sneer because they do not understand. They would 
have us consider thern very scholarly while they are 
making conceited fools out of themselves. Had they 
as much reason as presumption, they would give 
themselves the benefit of the doubt ; and with the pro- 
pensities of true genius endeavor to examine the things 
at which they now scoff. It is unnecessary to remark 
that this sort of conceit is an impenetrable barrier to 
Christian righteousness, and to those grand summits of 
knowledge from which the Christian scientist has 
caught glimpses of the world beyond. 

Without entering into any consideration of other 
Christians, we are compelled to admit that some Cath- 
olics are tainted with the foolishness of conceit. In 
presumptuousness they misjudge. Conceit so raises 
them above themselves that everything is out of geai 
which does not harmonize with their views. Some, 
times you will hear a few Catholics comment about the 
pastor or other priest. He is not fashioned according 
to the mould of their imagination. He is too social or 
he is too reticent. He is too severe or he is too leni- 
ent. He is not pious enough or he is an unpardonable 
ascetic. He does not preach or he preaches too much. 
He is not eloquent, nor is he accomplished or grace- 
ful. The Church is not what she ought to be. She is 
illiberal, unprogressive, and too exacting ; or she makes 
too many concessions, is too elaborate in her ceremo- 
nies, and too lax in her labors. Thus conceit talks, 
but its emptiness is so well known that it does no harm. 
Such Catholics should begin by studying themselves. 
This study may reveal to them that their conceited 
carping is as ridiculous as it is unwarranted. This 
study may, too, unfold for them the beauty, sublimity, 
and erudition of their Church. 



226 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY. 

Again, you may hear a Catholic boast : '' Oh, I don't 
go to Mass on Sunday. I don't believe in running to 
church so often ; I don't go ; still I am as good as those 
who do go. And then, this thing of going to the sacra- 
ments so often — I don't see any use in it. I haven't re- 
ceived the sacraments in five years, and I haven't been 
at Mass in I-don't-know-how-long a time ; yet I am 
just as good as these very pious church-goers and pros- 
per much better. They only go to show themselves. 
A good deal of it is sham. I believe in the practical 
man, in the everyday man." No doubt you have heard 
such lingo from a person who was a great admirer of 
himself. If that person, since he is so good without 
going to church, would go to church, he would be one 
of the greatest saints, his example would be most fruit- 
ful, and his memory would be handed down from gen- 
eration to generation. Let, however, this boastful per- 
son be attacked by sickness, and see how quickly his 
conceit disappears. Then he must have a priest ; then 
he wants a world of attention ; and if he die, why he 
must have a grand funeral, and the Church which he 
ignored must lavish favors upon him. In the grasp of 
malignant disease all the conceited bombast has depart- 
ed, and in the presence of death he acknowledges how 
little and how weak is man. 

There is, moreover, a national conceit which is as 
injurious to nations as individual conceit is to individ- 
uals. Nations thus demented imagine that all other 
peoples are unprogressive and uncivilized. Like con- 
ceited individuals, they know not of what they speak. 
They boast of their civilization and persuade them- 
selves they are messengers delegated by heaven to 
carry civilization to others. Experience demonstrates, 
however, that their civilization is the torch and the 



THIRD SERMON. 227 

maxim gun, impoverishment and destruction. They 
boast of their noble purposes, of their ability to pix)- 
mote peace and happiness, of their plan of " benevo- 
lent assimilation "; but their purposes inflict ruin? 
their promised peace and happiness are devastation 
and wretchedness, and their benevc>lent assimilation 
consists in filling graves with mangled human bodies. 
For ourselves, conceit has blinded us so completely 
that we now ignore the principles for which our fore- 
fathers bled, and upon which our right to independence 
was based. Nay, more ; we have despised the sagacious 
counsels of Washington, and appear to outlive the Con- 
stitution. If such conceited rashness is not stayed by 
the wisdom of true patriots, the nation will reap the 
" forbidden fruit " of conceit. 

Let us then, my Christian friends, carefully contem- 
plate the advice of St. Paul, ''Be not wise in your oivn 
conceit.'' Wisdom rejects it and Almighty God con- 
demns such foolishness. It is a barrier to advancement, 
a foe to piety, the ruin of national honor, and the de- 
stroyer of national memories. It never made a saint, a 
martyr, a wise man, or a scholar. It has no place in the 
halls of learning nor in the legislative assemblies of a 
nation. Since it is never an element of scholarship, 
but always a barrier to great acquirements ; since it is 
never found in the saints, but is ever an insurmountable 
obstacle to sanctity; since it is never seen in the wise 
man, but in the fool ; since it never promotes virtue, but 
often encourages vice, — had we better not avoid it and 
its influence ? Let us, then, invoke the Spirit of Wis- 
dom that we may be wise, but not in our own conceit ; 
that we may not imagine we are wise when we are 
foolish, so that He may impart to us that true wisdom 
which conducts to heaven. 



SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY, 



And every one that strive th for the mastery refraineth 
himself from all things : and they indeed that they may 
receive a corruptible crown: but we an incorruptible one. 
(St. Paul I, Ep., Cor. ix.— 25.) 

The Christian's Crown. 

My Dear Brethren : In the epistle just read for you 
St. Paul tells how the contestants struggle in the race 
for a corruptible crown. This is also true in our day. 
Trials of strength, endurance, and agility take place, 
and are encouraged by friends of such contests. In 
ancient times the games were an attractive feature of 
their holidays. For many they constituted the only 
attraction. Great enthusiasm was manifested ; and the 
victor received not only a crown, but the applause and 
esteem of the populace. Feats of marvellous athletic 
skill and power have won, in every age, universal appro- 
bation. This is as it should be. Healthy exercise, giving 
vigor and symmetry to the human body, ought to be 
encouraged. Moreover, the preparation made by ath- 
letes—their training, care, and self-restraint — is com- 
mendable. They exercise vigorously, they refrain from 
everything which may impede their success, they 
study to acquire skill, patience, and endurance, that 
they may wear the crown of victor. It i s this which 
stimulates them in their laborious training, and spurs 
them forward in the race, and nerves their hearts with 

228 



SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 229 

unyielding determination. The glory of great achieve- 
ment and the honor of a crown are the grand objects 
of every effort. But not every one who runs, wins ; 
and not every one who enters any contest, carries off 
the laurels of conquest. Some fail, and their failure is 
a thorny crown. They hear the applause which greets 
the victor, but this is a scourge to their already bruised 
feelings. How different with a true Catholic ! His 
temporal failure is triumph, his defeat a crown ! For 
his failures and defeats are offered to God and borne 
with Christian resignation. 

In the great race of human rivalry, there is more 
grounds for hope than in athletic competition ; for 
though only a few can acquire the first prizes in the 
world of contest, still every one will get some reward. 
It must be admitted, nevertheless, that many are not 
compensated in proportion to their efforts. The wor- 
thy are often set aside, and the undeserving are elevated 
to a rank which their own merits could never win. This 
is unjust; but justice is a stranger to many in our age. 
Still, even those who are advanced without merit, and 
those who win by tireless effort, only receive a perish- 
able crown. It amuses them for a few days, and then 
falls forever from the aching temples which ofttimes 
throbbed with pain in its pursuit. It is transitory ; and 
no sooner has it decked their brow than it must be 
exchanged for the shroud. In one race, however, all 
may win and should win. This is the race for heaven. 
In this contest some may surpass others, thus obtaining 
a greater reward ; but every one will be compensated 
according to his merit. There will be no injustice, no 
cliques, no " rings " to forward the unworthy or oppress 
or crush the deserving. Justice will bestow the prizes, 
and the prizes are eternal. It is of these prizes^ the iu- 



230 SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 

corruptible crowns, that St. Paul speaks to the Corin- 
thians. This is the sort of a crown he wished to see 
upon the brow of the early Christian ; this is the sort of 
a crown Almighty God wishes to see upon the brow of 
everyone of us at the Last Day ! This is the Christian 
crown — the crown fashioned by God's grace and good 
works — the crown which will sparkle in the Kingdom 
of God when all mundane glories will have decayed ! 
To the acquisition of this imperishable crown, there 
is nothing incompatible to be found in an honest strug- 
gle for temporal greatness . Indeed, the struggle for one 
should nerve Us for the other. They should be co-oper- 
ative, and are in the management of a great man's life. 
Just as a child who now reads a primer may become a 
celebrated scholar, and the peasant boy may accumulate 
vast opulence, so a devout Catholic may attain to noble 
distinction in the avenues of great effort, and at the 
same time be making his heavenly crown. There is 
nothing antagonistic between godliness and honest toil. 
In fact, every Catholic should strive to acquire as much 
honorable distinction in mundane affairs as he can. 
He ought not to be a laggard in the race, but should 
compete manfully with his fellow citizens in all worthy 
pursuits. He can weigh a subject as thoroughly as 
others ; his judgment is as safe a guide ; his energies 
as strong ; his will as unchangeable ; — in a word, he is as 
well equipped physically and mentally as any others. 
He ought, therefore, be as successful as any others. 
Besides, the fruit of his honorable success will notoftly 
elevate himself, but his influence will be helpful to 
others struggling in the race of life. He will be their 
model. His honest achievements will animate others. 
His energy, sobriety, and honesty will be noted and 
imitated by many another. In this manner a great- 



SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 231 

souled Catholic contends in the race, and his efforts 
are fashioning for him an incorruptible crown. Ah, 
were more Christians to wear the crown of probity and 
earnest application in this life, how much more great- 
ness of heart and soul would enrich society ! How 
much more certain would many be of wearing the 
imperishable crown in the Kingdom of God ! 

But you may tell me religion is not seldom a barrier 
to a Catholic's promotion. Yes, I concede this point. 
Some discriminate against a Catholic ; but this usually 
occurs where some " dirty work " is to be done, to 
the accomplishment of which no honorable Catholic 
stoops. They cannot trust a Catholic in such cases ; 
and therefore they select one who has an armor-plated 
conscience. In affairs of great moment and where 
probity is required, an honest Catholic is trusted and 
admired. If prejudice sometimes antagonizes him, es- 
pecially at the ballot-box, he must be patient. Such 
obstacles mould his character and enrich his incorrupti- 
ble crown. You must not expect to find your way in 
life strewn with flowers instead of thorns. The flowers 
might allure you from God ; the thorns draw you more 
intimately to Him. Besides, as a rule, these obstructions 
which are cast in your way on account of the faith you 
profess, can be diminished by noble, persevering 
effort. This effort will give you skill, broaden your 
views, strengthen your endurance, and make you greater 
and better. It will teach you, moreover, not to be too 
hasty in making distinctions in respect to the faith of 
others. Prove, then, that you possess the capabilities 
required ; prove that you know no discouragement ; 
prove that you have entered the race to win ; and your 
qualifications must be acknowledged ! Some persons 
maintain it is their religion which impedes their pro- 



232 SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 

gress, when in truth it is their inertness. But whether 
you remain in those occupations of life in which the 
majority are engaged ; or whether you be among the 
few who reach the citadel in which illustrious repu- 
tations are acquired, — you must toil, toil in the race. 
Some earn their bread by the sweat of their brow ; 
others by the aches of their heart and the worry of their 
soul. All is not peace which appears so. 

Still others will say : " How many rise to greatness 
by means of trickery and deception ! In our day an 
honest man cannot succeed. You must be in the 
' ring.' You must barter honor for promotion. You 
must forge your promises and proposals, as some artists 
fashion their wares, to please the buyers. A Catholic 
should not deal in such knavery ? Well, then, there 
is nothing left him but to mourn the death of his aspir- 
ations." To this permit me to reply by saying that 
you hold deception wins more than honesty. It is true, 
no doubt, that some reach the goal of amazing pros- 
perity over the bridge of deception and knavery ; still, 
we maintain that anyone who has won the bays of great 
enterprise and retained his reputation permanently, did 
it not by knavery. Trickery may win for a time, but 
its career is brief ; and what is won by deception is lost 
in disgrace. No ; if you cannot advance under the 
shield of integrity and by the lamp of honor and by the 
weapons of industry, better far that you withdraw from 
the contest. There is no incorruptible crown received 
from the hand of deception ; and the corruptible one 
earned in so base a manner is not worth the wearing. 

Again, you must remember that you are not created 
only for temporal eminence, but for heaven. Ponder 
well that time is short and eternity endless. You will 
then bear the rebuffs of ill-fortune with greater equan- 



SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 233 

imity, and make this earthly struggle subservient to 
your eternal interests. Make every effort, every dis- 
appointment, subserve your one, all-absorbing purpose 
— heaven. Mark well, nevertheless, that there is no 
antagonism between industry, enterprise, success, and 
religion. If any opposition arise, it is not the legitimate 
consequence, but the offspring of abuse. Catholics 
most celebrated for temporal acquirements were de- 
vout and practical in the things of divijie faith. Their 
memories are enrolled on the scrolls of honor and jus- 
tice in every nation upon the face of the earth. They 
are as illustrious for great achievement as they are re- 
nowned for their Christian virtues. Their lives and their 
success must persuade you that industry and progress 
are not incompatible with religion. The acts of our 
lives are good or bad, as we make them. They should 
be good, energetic, and continuous. You should de- 
monstrate that you are not reluctant to enter the contest 
with all competitors and to demand your rights. Be- 
cause you are Catholics, you should not be cowards ! 
Nor should you supinely endure every wrong, every 
injustice, every deprivation of your right ! The world 
has no use for such timidity ; but industry, determi- 
nation, and constancy knock at the barred gates of rec- 
ognition and obtain a hearing. Yet the struggle ought 
to be for noble ends, and the ever-actuating purpose 
should be your incorruptible crown. The efforts of 
life should be made the rungs of a ladder similar to 
the one Jacob saw. The angels ascending should be 
your intentions and your labors ; the angels descending 
will then be blessings from heaven, giving strength, 
fortitude, and victory. Thus while you are toiling 
onward to capture the fortress -&f--human reward, you 
can be building your ladder to the Coronation Halls, 



234 SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 

where a just Judge will crown your brow with imperish- 
able glory. To succeed in this it is necessary that the 
natural virtues of honor, justice, and probity be recasted 
in the moulds of religion and polished by Christian 
faith, Christian hope, and Christian charity. 

Christian virtue is the pilot of a great man's life, 
and the harbor which he desires to reach is heaven. 
Enriched with virtue, he ought to win in temporal and 
spiritual contests ; and from every storm he should 
come forth a brave, faithful, unconquerable sailor. If at 
times you meet opposition, you must not be discour- 
aged. Opposition constitutes a considerable portion 
of everybody's life. If your labors be unrewarded, or 
if they obtain not favorable recognition, never waste 
precious time by lamenting your hard luck. Take 
counsel from the poet : 

*' Let us then be up and doing, 
With a heart for any fate ; 
Still achieving, still pursuing, 
Learn to labor and to wait." — (Longfellow.) 

Your merits will finally be acknowledged ; but were 
they, by some strange combination of circumstances, 
never to be appreciated by men, remember that Gods 
omniscient eye sees them and will reward them in 
the realms of His glory. Moreover, the beautiful, 
admirable, self-consoling virtues of probity, honor, 
and industry are an inestimable treasure to their 
possessor. Some may value money, others desire 
learning ; many idolize power and influence ; but these 
are mummies, if not animated by the virtues men- 
tioned ; and these virtues alone are sufficient to exalt 
any person, though he may not wear any insignia of 
rank or be the recipient of any academic honors ! 
These virtues command and do obtain the approbation 



SEPTUAGESIMA .SUNDAY. 235 

they deserve, while the possessor experiences true 
delight and satisfaction from their influence upon him- 
self. They are indeed the gems of the soul, the 
adornment of a great heart, the glory of a true 
Catholic ! 

Mark well that the beneficent power of Christian 
\'irtues in the individual and upon society does not 
comprise all their value. While they are the motive 
power of all enduring achievements, they are also the 
passport to heaven. Yes, it is heaven itself which gives 
them strength, patience, effectiveness, and reward. 
The devout Catholic will incessantly thank God for 
them ; will beseech Him to sustain their fruitfulness 
in his soul ; will be anxious to make the best use of 
them for his own advancement, his neighbor's good, 
and the glorification of the Eternal Giver — Almighty 
God. In this way, what an incorruptible crown will 
not these virtues win in the contest for a happy immor- 
tality ! While they stimulate and guide in temporal 
affairs, they are angels conducting the weary traveler 
to His God ! They soothe the pain which the thorn- 
bruised feet suffer in the path leading to immortal 
fame beyond the skies I 

Should you at times become discouraged on account 
of the obstructions which prejudice casts in your way 
to temporal prosperit}', never mind. One thing is 
necessary. Do the better part. Serve God. Forget 
not that life is short and human greatness ends at the 
grave. The memory of the most celebrated fades 
away as their funeral day commingles with night. The 
onl}- man who is remembered twenty-four hours after 
his inanimate dust is lowered into its narrow con- 
fines, is a man who has not paid his debts. His 
creditors will think of him for a time, and may 



236 SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 

even curse his existence. You have read in the news- 
papers during the last few months of the demise of 
some distinguished men. Now even their memory is 
almost passed. Nothing remains except what may be 
contained in the national records and upon their tomb- 
stones. There is none now to do them honor. Now 
they can bestow no favors ; and their sycophants are 
not now mindful or grateful to the ability which lifted 
them to power. A corpse can confer no favors, and a 
dead man is a useless man. The death of a great man 
is like the destruction of a magnificent ship in a storm. 
There is a contest with the elements. A struggle to 
escape danger, an awful effort to extricate itself from 
ruin. Then it settles down into the deep. All who 
can, forsake it ; the storm blows over it, and the winds 
sing a requiem over its grave. Still, in man there is 
the soul which rises grandly above the vengeance of 
destruction and death. The immortal spirit outlives 
the blow of death, and the distinguishing virtues of 
honor, probity, and faithfulness survive the human 
shipwreck. The noble deeds of a great-hearted Catholic 
will be a stimulus and sustenance to many a young 
man battling with unfairness and opposition. Besides, 
these virtues will certainly increase the glory of his 
incorruptible crown. Let us, therefore, put forth every 
energy, as faithful Catholics, to attain to every honor- 
able distinction within human grasp ; but above and 
beyond every human consideration, let us toil with 
honor, probity, and fidelity for that imperishable crown 
whose beauty and splendor never suffers any diminu- 
tion of eternal glory. It is the reward of fealty to 
Alniighty God, Who has promised it to His faithful 
servants : '' Be thou faithful until death, and I will give 
thee the crown of life'' (Apocal. ii. — lo.) 



SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY. 



He that hath ears to hear let him hear. ( St. Luke 
viii.— 8. ) 

The Need of a Knowledge of the Word of God. 

My Dear Brethren : At first thought the Gospel for 
to-day, which I have just read, may be somewhat of a 
surprise to you. It may seem strange to you that Jesus 
would exhort anyone of the multitude to give ear to His 
divine words. Might we not reasonably suppose that 
everyone would listen attentively to every word which 
passed the portal of His lips. No orator ever spoke 
more eloquently. None could speak so fervently and 
instructively to the heart as He Who knew human 
nature best. To the well disposed the magnetism of His 
discourses was irresistible, His knowledge of His subject 
unlimited, His delivery perfect, — all the qualifications 
of an unequalled orator were united in Him ; yet He 
cries out : " He that hath eafs to hear let him hear!' You 
will observe that there is more implied here than simply 
hearing. The scope of the application of these words 
embraces a disposition willing to receive divine doctrine, 
a memory desirous to retain it, and a will determined to 
obey its demands. Besides, the words of our text applies 
to greater numbers than those comprised in the multi- 
tude that listened to Him on that memorable occasion ; 
for He did not speak for one assemblage of persons, 



288 SEXAGESIMA SUITDAY. 

but for the human race in every age. His doctrine is 
not confined to one locality or to one people, but ex- 
tends to every nation and to all people. Hence the 
command of our Divine Teacher requires attentiveness 
to His instructions, docility in hearing them, and 
obedience to them ; and these qualifications, on the 
part of the listener, are circumscribed by no barriers, 
but pertain to all nations and to all times. The dec- 
laration of our Divine Saviour \'' If he will not hear the 
Church, let him be to thee as the heathefi and the publican. " 
(Math, xviii. — 17), includes submission to the teachings 
and decisions of the Church. Men may hear forever 
without complying with the doctrine taught. They 
may hear and then ridicule the word of God. It fol- 
lows, therefore, that Jesus intended by this expression 
to impress upon His audience both the necessity of 
hearing the divine word and of obeying its requirements. 
You remember, the Gospel for to-day tells of a sower 
who sowed his seed, and also describes where the seed 
fell. The disciples did not understand the parable, and 
sought an explanation for it from their Divine Master, 
just as Catholics now seek explanations on controverted 
subjects from the Church established by that same 
Divine Master. Our Divine Lord answers them : ** To 
you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; 
but to the rest in parables^ that seeing they may not see, and 
hearijig they may 7iot understand. (Luke viii. — 10.) 
Having made this comment, He explains to the dis- 
ciples the nature of the parable. But you may inquire : 
" Is this not a marvellous statement which our Divine 
Saviour makes ? He speaks in parables that the Jews 
may not see or understand the full meaning of His dis- 
course. We are inclined to think He would be most 
lucid in His speech, that all may easily comprehend His 



SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY. 239 

meaning." My Christian friends, many of the Jews 
only listened to Him in order to find fault with His 
instructions, to deride His doctrine, and entrap Him in 
His speech. In St. Matthew's Gospel our Divine Lord, 
referring to the Jews, says : ''This people's heartis zvaxed 
gross, and their ears are didlofliearing, and their eyes they 
Jiave closed ; lest at any time they should see with their eyes 
and hear with their ears, and shoidd imder stand with their 
hearts, and shotdd be cofiverted and I shoidd heal them'' 
(Math. xiii. — 15.) You perceive now that the fault 
was not with our Saviour, but with the Jews. They did 
not go to hear Him for the purpose of being edified 
with His instructions or of meditating upon the truth 
of His doctrine, or of being converted by His benign 
grace, As a great teacher would do, He told them 
sufficient in His parable to awaken their attention and 
to induce them to inquire. How was it that the dis- 
ciples sought information on the subject which they did 
not entirely comprehend, and the others of His 
audience did not ask a single question ? The answer 
is quite evident. The disciples were desirous to hear 
the doctrine of Christ expounded ; they were not. 
No doubt there were present on that occasion some 
others besides the disciples, who were docile, attentive 
listeners ; and for these, Jesus said sufficient to arouse 
a spirit of investigation and to induce them to come to 
Him again. 

You must also keep in mind that Jesus did not speak 
only for the Jews. His discourses were intended to 
instruct mankind in every age. In like manner His 
condemnation of the Jews on account of their obduracy 
is applicable to many who are not Jews. How many 
in our own time will not listen to the Church ? They 
will not inquire, lest they be converted and be healed 



240 SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY. 

by the divine mercy of Almighty God. They will scoff 
at the Church, deride her doctrine, embarrass her pro- 
gress ; and as far as it is possible for them, impede her 
influence. Are there not, moreover, some Catholics 
who shut their hearts to her teaching, lest they, too, be 
converted by her salutary warnings and exhortations ? 
They have ears, but they hear not. They do not even 
avail themselves of the opportunities given them to hear, 
lest they become practical in their faith, devout in their 
attendance at Mass, and edifying in their Christian ex- 
ample. Yes, Jesus spoke to everyone. His sermons 
are for all — even for the last person who will be born. 
He spoke for no particular age, but for every age ; He 
spoke for no particular nation, but for every nation ; 
He knew no caste, He made no distinction. He came 
for the salvation of alL His teachings and exhortations 
apply to everyone. Hence, when He cried out, " He 
that hath ears to hear let him hear,'' He meant you and 
me and every other human creature. That cry has 
gone forth from the lips of Jesus, and continues, and 
will ever continue to reverberate until the last priest 
will have for the last time read the Gospel for Sex- 
agesima Sunday ! 

Though this text is short, it is nevertheless of much 
importance. It commands every Catholic, in fact 
everyone, to hear the word of God and preserve it in 
his heart. Like every precept which uncreated Wis- 
dom gave to mankind, it is of untold value to us. What 
drives back the billows of infidelity and immorality 
which threaten the human race in our day, if not the 
word of God ? With what attention every Catholic 
should hear that word ! How he should prepare him- 
self by prayer, so that he may understand it correctly, 
that he may apply it fruitfully, and that it may ever find 



SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY. 241 

a pure and retentive receptacle in his soul ! How fool- 
ish, nay, how stupidly foolish must that Catholic be 
who has no relish for the word of God ! If he comes to 
Mass at all, it is not to last Mass. He is afraid the 
service will be too long. A half hour is enough for him. 
To hear a sermon in addition to participating in the 
Adorable Sacrifice is too onerous for one who flatters 
himself he knows it all. No wonder that the seed of 
the word of God, sown in his childhood, is parched and 
dead. He never fertilized it with the dews of true 
Catholic devotion. 

Now, is not such negligence provoking in an age like 
this, when discussions upon religious topics and science 
and even infidelity are going on in the workshop, on the 
sidewalks, in railroad trains — in brief, in every occupa- 
tion of life ? Infidels are misconstruing science and 
assaulting religion with their erroneous conceptions ; 
non-Catholics are arraying their ablest intellectual 
forces in the last intrenchments to which they are driven, 
to assail the Catholic Church. They are making the 
strongest defense which private judgment can erect, 
and in the weakness of their position they invoke 
their favorites in civil power to aid them with their 
influence, and reinforce them with unjust preferences in 
legislation. In the presence of such a host, will 
Catholics be inert ? Will they not arm themselves 
with the weapons of solid knowledge and with the shield 
of the word of God ? At all times he should blush 
if he were ignorant ; but in our age it becomes a crime 
for a Catholic not to be able to defend himself logically, 
cogently, and at least with moderate information. But, 
alas ! some Catholics, to show how little they know, will 
use some vague notions of science to attack Catholic 
doctrine. In their ignorance they imagine they can 



242 SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY. 

talk as profoundly as Pasteur, Koch, or Virchow ; and to 
display their cleverness in polemics they are ever 
ready to explain the warfare between science and 
religion. It is surprising " how one small head can 
carry all they know ! " This class is usually agitated 
with difficulties and doubts respecting religion. Why? 
Because they have in a great measure lost their faith. 
They are madly contending with turbulent waves of 
infidelity, which themselves have lashed into fury. 
They are clinging to the last spar of salvation, ere God 
permits them to be engulfed in the whirlpool of their 
own madness. " A little learning is " (for them) " a 
dangerous thing." Especially when they indulge too 
freely in dissipation and corrupting company. How is 
this inconstancy in religion to be obviated, you may 
ask ? Evidently by reading authorized books of infor- 
mation, by the reception of the sacraments, and by hear- 
ing the word of God and complying with its require- 
ments. Obeying the word of God comprises all, 
because in obeying that word you perform all that is 
demanded of you, and the grace of God enriches and 
stabilitates your soul. By a compliance with that 
word, divine faith is kept ardent in your souls. Catholic 
sermons always treat of that word. Every priest 
labors to instruct those placed under his care. He is 
responsible for them to God ; and, if his discourses 
do not embrace all the topics upon which you desire 
information, they inform you on the principal subjects 
which are of essential importance to the preservation of 
your faith and to the acquisition of the rewards of that 
faith here and hereafter. They may also suggest many 
new thoughts which, if not sufficiently developed by 
the priest, will awaken a train of meditation and induce 
you to investigate for yourselves. In this manner the 



SEXACtESIMA SUNDAY. 243 

seed of the word of God will be nourished and 
cultivated in your hearts, and you will harvest much 
useful knowledge, beneficial to yourselves and, if 
opportunities arise, instructive to others. 

Be not insensible to the heavenly manna which 
Jesus bestows in His teachings. The word of God is 
the manna of the soul ; and just as it happened to the 
Jews, if this spiritual manna of the word of God is not 
gathered at the proper time it may never be gathered. 
Ah! why should not this divine word have influence up- 
on the soul, since it has demonstrated its omnipotence 
in countless ways. At the dawn of creation Almighty 
God spoke. From nothing, by His all-powerful word, 
the universe came forth. His eternal fiat demanded 
light ; and the sun took up his course as the luminary 
of day, and the moon as the luminary of night. By 
the potency of that sacred word the birds of the air, 
the fishes of the waters, and every other animal was 
created. Vegetation, smiling under the influence of 
that word, decorated the surface of the earth. And 
finally man was created to the image and likeness 
of that Eternal Being whose word gave existence, 
symmetry, and beauty to all created things. The laws 
which He gave to nature in these first days of creation 
are still heard b)' nature and still obeyed by every 
atom of the universe. 

Moses and the Prophets and other holy men men- 
tioned in the Old Testament accomplished wonders by 
the efficacy of that divine word. We may, however, 
dispense with a rehearsal of those extraordinary works, 
and turn immediately to the marvellous effects of the 
word of God, described in'the New Testament. By the 
potency of that word the lame laid aside their crutches ; 
the lifeless organ of hearing was filled with the dulcet 



244 SEXAGESIMA SU^fDAY. 

sounds of nature ; the sightless received vision and 
beheld, in wonderment, the glories of creation ; disease 
of every species obeyed that mandate ; Satan acknowl- 
edged its power and submitted to its command. Now 
this same Jesus Whom all nature obeyed must call 
out to mankind : " He that hath ears to hear let him hear!' 
Every thing obeys except the rational being — man. 

Mark also the potency of that word even in this age 
of doubt and infidelity and lawlessness. An infant is 
borne to the regenerating fountain of baptism. By 
the efificacy of the divine word the infant becomes a 
child of God, an heir to heaven, and is robed in the 
mantle of innocence. A sinner enters the sacred 
tribunal of penance. He is shackled by the malice of 
Satan and his own passions ; his heart is pierced with 
the thorns of sin ; he is a prisoner of hell. The divine 
word of absolution is pronounced ; the heart wounds 
are healed ; the garb of purity once more envelops his 
soul ; his bonds are broken and he is free again. He 
approached confession with a heart crushed by many 
a woe ; he departs with a strong heart and firm 
resolution. Before he was a slave of Satan, now he is 
a child of God. Heaven rejoices at his conversion, his 
friends rejoice, and his own heart beats light with joy : 
and all this is due to the power and influence of God's 
word. But behold the wonder of wonders in the 
August Sacrifice of the Altar ! A wonder more over- 
whelming to our reason than that of the creation of the 
universe ! By the divine word communicated to the 
priests of the Catholic Church, the simple elements of 
bread and wine are transubstantiated into the Son of 
God. Jesus leaves heaven and takes up His abode in 
our tabernacles. Stupendous manifestation of the effi- 
cacy of God's word ! At the Consecration every Cath- 



SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY. 245 

olic's intellect bows its acknowledgment, and the 
angels kneel in adoration before this beneficent Friend 
of the human race. 

Should not, then, every Catholic hear the word of 
God and cherish it in his heart all the days of his 
life ? Will it be said that a Catholic, a rational beino; 
blessed by so many heavenly favors, is less docile, less 
obedient than the material world ? Surely not. Pray 
often, and especially at Mass time, that God may ever 
assist you to hear His doctrine and to comply with His 
laws. Never depart from this church without making 
the resolution to cultivate in your hearts the seed of the 
word of God. Often say : O Lord ! give eagerness to 
my ears for Your divine word ; give me an intellect to 
understand it and a will to perform it, that no one may 
ever say my ears were deaf to Your precepts or my 
heart hardened against Your laws ! 



EASTER SUNDAY. 



Ycu seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is 
risen . ( M ar k x vi . — 6 . ) 

God's Love for Mankind. 

My Dear Brethren : What a contrast between this 
Easter Sunday recorded by the Evangelist St. Mark 
and the dreary Good Friday preceding. On that Good 
Friday Jesus died as an abject, abandoned criminal ; on 
Easter Sunday morning He rises triumphantly over 
death and the malice of His enemies. On that mem- 
orable Good Friday afternoon He appealingly cried to 
His Eternal Father : " My God ! My God ! why hast 
Thou forsaken Me ! " but on Easter Sunday morning He 
bursts through the tomb by His own inherent power. 

On Good Friday He expires amid scoffs ; on Easter 
Sunday He rises emblazoned in His own glory. On 
Good Friday darkness hung heavy over Jerusalem, 
nature was disturbed to her centre, and even the dead 
left their graves to appear to many as an evidence of 
the stupendous event which had transpired. But what 
a change came over the heavens and the earth on Easter 
Sunday ! Limbo rejoiced ; heaven rejoiced ; and what 
must have been the joy of the early visitants to the 
tomb when they saw their Saviour had risen according 
to His own prediction. On that Easter Sunday morn- 



EASTER SUNDAY. 247 

ing there was ecstasy and wonderment among that faith- 
ful little group. And if the human heart could rejoice 
in its amazement, what was the rejoicement among the 
souls in limbo ! The love of Jesus was not only infused 
into the hearts of the living, but was communicated 
also to the spirits of the righteous dead. On the morning 
of the resurrection a little band of faithful adherents 
rejoiced; and every Easter Sunday morning since has 
been a day of joy, worshipped by all Christians, until 
this morning, when millions of Catholics the world 
over kneel in loving gratitude to Jesus. From the hearts 
of millions go forth the grandest anthems of devotion 
and thanksgiving. 

Now, my Christian friends, we have been consider- 
ing recently the precepts of Charity : '^Thoit shalt love 
thy neighbor as thyself, afid thoii shalt love the Lord thy 
God with thy whole heart, zvith thy whole soul, with all 
thy mhid, and with all thy streiigth'' God requires that 
man should love his fellow man and also his Creator. 
Let us examine this morning whether God loves man. 
He demands of man his love ; let us see whether the 
love is reciprocated ; whether He loves His human 
creatures ; and if so, to what extent. 

In the morning of creation, when the Almighty stood 
upon the threshold of heaven. He beheld that all was 
void and that darkness covered the vast abyss. " He 
sent forth His spirit'' says the First Chapter of Genesis, 
" over the limitless chasm, a )id creation began.'' Light was 
made. The various planets took up their motions and 
assumed their positions according to the will of the Eter- 
nal Architect, In His marvelous plan, earth was de- 
signed for the habitation of the human race, and to this 
planet He gave fertility and the faculty of production. 
Now, I do not say that God created the heavens and 



248 EASTEB SUNDAY. 

the earth for man, and for man only. He had un- 
doubtedly other purposes in His eternal design. But 
this is certain, that all these at present are necessary to 
man's existence, and all contribute to his benefit and 
delight. 

In all this wonderful creation you see the manifesta- 
tions of God's love for mankind. Still, it is only when 
you come to consider the creation of man himself , that 
your admiration grows and grows until it bursts forth 
in wondering enthusiasm. Behold man, the master- 
piece of God's love ! See him in his strength and in 
his beauty ; see him in the symmetry of his body and in 
the powers of his soul, and what a marvelous piece of 
work is man ! Anyone who studies the anatomy of the 
human body must necessarily ponder upon its astound- 
ing formation. I for one never could understand how 
any person, examining the structure of a human body, 
and reflecting upon the skilful arrangement of its parts, 
could be a disbeliever in God. Just study the foot and 
the hand. Note the extraordinary strength and elas- 
ticity combined with symmetry and beauty. Wonder- 
ful arrangement of- parts which speak to the heart of 
the great love of God toward man ! None but a God 
could design such a structure ! None but a God could 
execute such a design ! But this is only simple when 
compared with the other more wonderful parts of the 
human body . Behold the complex, wondrous, yea, mys- 
terious organs of speech ! Behold the tongue, that mys- 
terious instrument which converts the thoughts of the 
intellect into intelligible sound ! Man holds converse 
with his fellow man ! Intellect speaks to intellect, and 
man is dignified by the faculty of speech ! Magnifi- 
cent gift 1 Incomparable love ! 

Now, in order that you may the better comprehend 



EASTER SUNDAY. 249 

God's love in the creating of man, let me ask of the 
poorest person in this parish, would you give your two 
eyes for all these United States with all their wealth ? 
Were a man, having the authority, to approach you and 
say to you, " I shall give you all the wealth and lands in 
the United. States, but the moment you accept the offer 
you will become stone blind, and blind you shall remain 
forever." Would you accept? No ! you would recoil in 
horror from such a monstrous proposition ; you would 
repel his offer as that of a demon. •' My God ! " you 
would say, " what a repulsive temptation, to barter my 
eyes, these precious gifts, for money and lands ! Never- 
more to see the smile of the heavens ! Nevermore to 
behold the fair face of a friend ! Nevermore to drink 
in with admiring enthusiasm the beauties and the 
grandeur of nature ! No, no ; the whole world could 
not be a single drop in the compensation for my eyes." 
Such would be your answer to such a preposterous 
offer. Then pause and see how God loves the very 
poorest ; see His priceless gift ; see how richly en- 
dowed the beggar even is. And these orbs of light 
through which the external world shines into the soul, 
and through which the soul holds communication with 
all its environment, are the free gifts of God . These are 
means by which the soul is enriched by the glories of 
the heaven and the earth. By these the soul acquires 
knowledge of God's creation ; by these science is built 
up ; and from a consideration of these the soul rises in 
holy contemplation and grateful acknowledgment of 
God's love. Wonderful organ of sight, you baffle the 
most profound scientist and confound the greatest 
skeptic. No one has ever discovered how you hold 
converse with the soul or how the soul speaks through 
\'ou. At present you are as perplexing a mystery 



250 EASTER SUNDAY. 

as that of the Blessed Trinity, and you are likely to 
remain such. 

It is, however, only when }'ou come to reflect upon 
the noble part of man, the great faculties of the human 
soul, that you see the abundance of God's love for you. 
No wonder when Shakespeare was considering man, that 
he exclaimed : " What a piece of work is man ! How 
noble in reason, how infinite in faculty ! In form and 
movement how expressed and admirable ! In action 
how like an angel ; in comprehension how like a God ! " 
How noble in reason — that reason which elevates hu- 
man nature above all mundane creation ; which soars 
to God in thought ; whence springs the noblest aspira- 
tions ; which drinks in knowledge, filling the heart and 
soul with loftiest contemplations. It is the compass of 
the mind, the regulator of thought, the torch of investi- 
gation. A French philosopher of the infidel school, in 
attempting to dwarf the greatness of man's intellectual 
powers, and to cast contempt upon the immortality of 
the soul, said : " Man is but a speck in creation ; only a 
flea when compared with the vast and ponderous plan- 
ets." Yes, but this flea, if we call him such, can seize 
these great spheres in the grasp of his intellect ! He can 
actually weigh them, compute their density, measure 
their velocities, and describe their motions ! This flea 
can invent and build a telescope whereby he can pen- 
etrate the secret places of the heavens and discover new 
wonders. He can harness the dangerous forces of na- 
ture, subdue them, and make them his fleety messengers. 
Wonderful, the powers of the soul ! It is not amaz- 
ing at all that Almighty God seemed to take counsel 
when He was about to create m.an. " Let us make man 
to our own image ajid likeness!' said the Eternal Designer. 
H^ impressed man with the seal of intelligence ; and 



EASTER SUNDAY. 251 

how truly He is in action like an angel ; and in compre- 
hension how like a God ! 

Look upon the cross if you desire another stupendous 
proof of God's love for the human race. Abject and 
abandoned, like a criminal, He dies. The manger and 
the cross are testimonies of His love ; but since you have 
been meditating upon the passion during Lent, I do not 
intend to do more than call your attention to this unpar- 
alleled manifestation of God's love. Permit me now 
to direct your thoughts to another evidence of His love 
Among the many promises which Jesus gave, was one 
which evinces His incessant love for man. He declared : 
" / shall remai?i with yott forever ; " and how truthfully 
is this fulfilled in the sacrament of His love, the Holy 
Eucharist. There He remains, the consoler of the 
afflicted, the help of the weak, the hope of saint and sin- 
ner ; and there He will remain as long as a priest of 
the Catholic Church survives the spoliations of time ! 
How cold and uninviting would be our Church but for 
His presence. How gloomy was our Church during 
Good Friday, when He did not reside in our tabernacle. 
It was like Jerusalem many centuries ago, when Jesus 
expired on the cross. Darkness hung heavily here in 
the sanctuary. There was an indescribable lonesome- 
ness which made the heart sad, which filled everything 
with the silence of death. How fervently the soul 
wished for Holy Saturday morning, when the sacrifice 
of Calvary would be again renewed, and the Saviour of 
mankind would again take up His abode among us in 
the sacrament of His love. It is He in the tabernacle 
Who attracts the heart ! It is to visit Him, to pray 
to Him, to supplicate Him, that Catholics in every land 
are drawn irresistibly to their church ! It is for Him they 
expose themselves to the rains and storms, to the sum- 



252 EASTER SUNDAY. 

mer's heat and the vvearisomeness of long journeys on 
foot ! He attracts them with an irresistible power. 
They kneel to Him. They unveil the sorrows of their 
hearts to Him ; they thank Him for His great love 
and entreat His protection. How lonely would be our 
temples but for His august presence ! 

Supposing now you had a great-hearted friend. In 
your absence a quarrel arose. Your enemies assailed 
your reputation for honor and manliness. They even 
impugned your character. They misconstrued your 
honest motives and attributed your goodness to selfish- 
ness. They slandered your virtues and would debase 
your manhood. Your friend was there. He repelled 
every slander, maintained your motives, and defended 
your honor ; but your enemies rose against him. They 
overpowered him, and in the struggle he fell dead at 
their feet. You hear of the death of your great-hearted, 
great-souled friend ; you learn of the sacrifice he made ; 
of the proofs of his friendship, of his nobleness, of his 
unsparing generosity. Your soul is filled with grati- 
tude ; your heart is swaying with emotion. You rush 
to his bier. He is dead. The stains of blood from 
his heart-wounds tell you of his friendship ! They tell 
you of his esteem for you, of his own nobility of char- 
acter, of his own greatness of soul ! On your knees 
you implore God to give your friend life once more — 
but for one moment, that you may breathe into his soul 
your gratitude ; that you may whisper to him how much 
you love him, how much you admire his friendship, 
how much you are indebted to his noble-souled de- 
fence of your honor. Your soul is bursting with grief 
and grateful emotions ; but no voice responds. Your 
great friend is dead. The only reply you get is from 
his wounds,, which tell you of his fidelity. Oh, will his 



EASTER SUNDAY. 258 

memory be ever effaced from your heart ? Never. 
Perish the thought which would desecrate his memory 
in the shrine of your soul ! No morning will ever 
dawn, no evening close, but you will beseech the 
throne of mercy in behalf of your magnanimous friend. 
You wnll have the Sacrifice of the Mass offered for him. 
Every thought will be a prayer for him ; and the last 
wish on your death-bed will be that you may meet him 
in heaven, and tell him of your great gratitude. But 
did you ever have such a friend ? Yes, one. Behold 
Him on the cross! Behold Him in the tabernacle! Sa- 
tan attacked your honor and your dignity. He wished 
to besmirch your character, to degrade you, to ruin 
you — and Jesus, your Redeemer, defends you. He 
died that the nobility of }'our soul may not be de- 
stroyed, nor your manhood impeached, nor your eternal 
destiny imperiled. He is your great friend; but let 
me add again, that since you have been meditating 
during the season of Lent upon His unstinted love as 
proven by His passion and death, I shall refrain from 
dwelling 'longer upon His great mercy, and simply 
point you to the cross. 

On Good Friday evening you pondered over the first 
precept of charity. I might have left the impression 
that you do not love God. This was not my purpose. 
True ; I spoke of man's ungratefulness, but left until this 
morning something which may be said as a testimony 
of man's homage and love for his Creator. In every 
age, what immense devotion has been displayed by 
Catholics for the Supreme Being. Consider the priva- 
tions endured, the mortifications undergone, the fasting 
and praying of millions, and all as an expression of grat- 
itude and love to the Creator. For God's sake, the 
martyrs met death with holy fortitude; the saints lived, 



254 EASTER SUNDAY. 

fasted, prayed, .and toiled ; the Fathers and Doctors 
of the Church studied, wrote, and imparted knowledge. 
But it is not necessary to refer to other times or coun 
tries. Behold the grand testimony of our own country ! 
See the missionary Fathers of the early days, plodding 
along the great lakes, descending the Mississippi, tra- 
versing dense forests, penetrating the plains, and every- 
where giving proof of their indefatigable devotion to 
man and God. Reflect upon their sufferings and the 
martyrdom endured, the hunger, the thirst — toiling on- 
ward where no other white man dared to tread. The 
thrilling story of the saintly Marquette is of itself suf- 
ficient to demonstrate that in the hearts of men there is 
obedience to God's will and love for Jesus. Yea, in the 
hearts of Catholics this love exists, though at times it 
smoulders. Some Catholics are wicked, some speak 
the Holy Name with awful irreverence; still, down deep 
in their hearts there is love for their Saviour and their 
God. You cannot convince me to the contrary. No 
Catholics who in childhood lisped the sweet names of 
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, can entirely dissipate love of 
God from their hearts. It will break forth at times ! 
It cannot die ! It will remind the soul of other and 
happier and more innocent days ! It may become mute 
except when some disaster or misfortune touches the 
strings ; but perish entirely from the heart it cannot. 
On the other hand, note the remarkable devotion of 
the great mass of Catholics. Observe the sacrifices 
they make — the journeys undertaken, the exposure, the 
cold, the feebleness, — all for God. Ah ! but who can 
estimate the silent pra}'er, the soul exhaling the sweet 
incense of love — those pure, holy, gentle vibrations 
of the heart for God, which are never heard, which are fHj 

born and die in the silence of the soul, or which find 



EASTER SUNDAY. 255 

birth in the heart and continued life at the eternal 
throne of mercy ! On this Easter Sunday morning, 
how many a Catholic heart rises in grateful prayer to 
Jesus ! Millions and millions of Catholics fill the 
churches in every clime, on this great feast, and offer 
their thanksgivings to their Redeemer. O Eternal 
Father of the world ! O Eternal Son, Redeemer of the 
human race ! O Holy Spirit, the light of the intellect ! 
all three in One, we adore Thee on this Easter Sunday 
morning, and offer to You our hearts as a testimony of 
our love and as an acknowledgment of Your love to- 
wards us. 



SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 



And you shall give testimo?iy of Me because you are with 
Me from the begin?iing. (St . John xv. — 2'j.) 

The Testimony of Catholics for Jesus. 

My Christian Brethren : On this beautiful Sunday 
morning in Mary's month, and within the octave of the 
Ascension, our holy Mother the Church calls our atten- 
tion to this very instructive Gospel. This being Sunday 
within the octave of the Ascension, the Gospel for to- 
day is not only instructive, but also very appropriate. 
It carries us back to the morning of Christianity, and 
in contemplation we see our Divine Lord addressing 
His Apostles. What sacred and impressive discourses 
they have heard from His holy lips ! Divine eloquence 
imparting sublimest truths ; infusing charity, patience, 
and fortitude ; bestowing principles which are the life of 
Christianity, the sustenance and development of civiliza- 
tion, the support of the weak, and the guide to eternal 
happiness! 

On the occasion to which the Gospel refers. He is 
talking with them of the Holy Ghost. He tells them 
the Spirit of Truth, Who proceeds from the Father, will 
give testimony of Him, and adds : '^ And you shall give Tes- 
timony of Me, because you are with Me from the begin- 
ningr Considering the intimacy with which the Apos- 
tles lived with their Divine Master and the marvelous 

256 



II 



SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 257 

scenes of power and suffering which transpired in 
their presence, they were capable, to give testimony of 
the Saviour of Mankind. Our text implies more than 
it directly conveys. It implies that our Divine Lord's 
words suggested to them, with as much vividness as if 
He had spoken it : '* You shall give testimony of Me, 
for you have been witnesses of My miracles ; you 
have heard My teaching and seen its effects ; you have 
been witnesses of My crucifixion ; you see the nail 
wounds in My hands and feet and the lance wound in 
My side ; you saw Me buried ; you now behold Me risen 
from the tomb, and ere long you will behold Me ascend- 
ing to My Eternal Father. You shall, therefore, be 
competent to speak with veracity; and the Spirit of 
Truth Whom I shall send from the Father to you, will 
bring all things to your mind, will give you firmness to 
testify concerning Me." 

The Blessed Virgin was a most efficient witness of the 
the life and purpose of her Divine Son. She gave testi- 
mony of Him ; and her memory, enshrined in the hearts 
of millions of Catholics, is the grandest confirmation 
in modern times of the birth of Jesus and the efficacy of 
His doctrine. She gives testimony of Him, for she is 
His Mother ; she gives testimony of Him, because she 
stood at the foot of the cross ; she gives testimony of 
Him, because she is a witness of His Resurrection and 
Ascension, saw the struggle and growth of the infant 
Church, and is inseparably united with the vitality, 
efficiency, and endurance of Christianity ! Her influ- 
ence upon the lives of countless Catholics is a testimony 
that the doctrine of Jesus still survives, is still vigorous. 
Is still obeyed. Her memory carries the Christian back 
to Bethlehem ; induces him to ponder upon the scenes 
of Jerusalem ; awakens thoughts of the Mount of Olives, 
Tabor, and Calvary. 



258 SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

Passing from the consideration of Mary to that of the 
Apostles, you will recollect they bore testimony of 
Jesus ; and that testimony has been continued in the 
Catholic Church since its institution. The Apostles, 
by the sanctity of their lives, by their fidelity to their 
Divine Master, by the consecration of their lives to His 
service, and by their death, gave testimony ; and their 
memory still gives testimony of the Redeemer of the 
human race. The Church established by the Saviour 
continues the testimony. In every age she has been a 
witness of His continuance with her. By His assist- 
ance she has baffled her enemies and overcome every 
obstacle to her progress. She gave testimony of Him 
when the Caesars ruled Rome ; and during the early 
persecutions she preached His doctrine, withstood ty- 
ranny, and finally triumphed over every opposition. By 
her endurance, and patience, and charity, she demon- 
strated the divinity of her unerring Founder. In civil- 
ized nations, in the forest of unexplored territories, on 
sea and land, she carried the banner of Christianity, — 
the cross. Her churches are crowned by this emblem 
of salvation ; and rising above the din of contentions 
and revolutions, it proclaims the Redemption of man 
and gives testimony of the Redeemer ! Her martyrs 
gave testimony by their fidelity and their death ! Her 
saints gave testimony by the holiness of their lives, by 
the miracles they performed, and by their attachment 
to Him ! The Fathers of the Church gave testimony of 
Him by their learning, by their writings, b>' their 
preaching and their maintenance of His doctrine ! 
Every practical Catholic in every age gave testimon}- 
that He is Christ the Son of the Most High ! 

Behold in our own land what testimony is given of 
Him ! Behold the churches and the convents, the 



SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 259 

monasteries and the seminaries, colleges, academies, 
and parochial schools covering the land and pro- 
claiming His supremacy ! The nun in her garb, the 
monk in his monastery, the toiler at Mass, the child at 
prayer, — all give tes^mony of Him. Every priest in 
every church in every hamlet, town, and city points to 
Him ; and endeavors to lead his flock to Him Who is 
the Way, the Truth, and the Light. The nation teems 
with Catholic devotion to Him. Everywhere is abun- 
dant testimony given of Him. His love is extolled, 
His mercy praised, His friendship sought, and His 
precepts observed. What universal devotion, what 
unlimited testimony, what unequaled obedience is thus 
manifested to the Adorable Son of Mary ! 

If we narrow down our views to a consideration of 
this parish, what generous testimony you have given 
Him on many an occasion. In tempestuous weather, 
over rough and muddy roads you have come, and many 
of you have often come in feeble health to this church 
to adore Him Who resides in our tabernacle. During 
the Sacrifice of the Mass you have knelt before Him, 
and every prayer was a testimonial of your love, fidel- 
ity, and confidence in Him. What great testimony you 
gave when through the storms of winter and through 
deep snows you came to hear Mass ! You cannot 
overestimate the edification you gave. What an instruc- 
tive object lesson you gave to unbelievers in }^our faith ! 
They must have marveled at your constancy, and I 
am sure your example bade them often reflect upon the 
religion you profess. When after Mass you left the 
church and thronged the sidewalks of this hamlet, 
your numbers were a demonstration of your faith, which 
unbelievers admired. A few years ago, in Oil City, a 
Protestant minister was discoursing to his flock about 



260 SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

attending church on Sunday. He told them they only 
came in pleasant weather — when the sky w as beautiful 
and the walk exhilarating ; when they wished to see 
the styles and be seen by the curious ; but, said he, go 
over to the foot of yonder street and see the flocks of 
people returning from service in the Catholic Church. 
They will make you blush for your want of fidelity to 
God, and show you they have faith in what they believe. 

And thus, my beloved brethren, your example gives 
testimony of your faith, and this faith is the one taught 
by the Redeemer. Every good Catholic is a priest in 
his own way. Every good Catholic can and does dis- 
sipate prejudice. Every good Catholic gives testimony 
of Jesus, and this testimony draws souls to kneel at the 
feet of their Saviour. A priest seldom enters into a 
conversation with Protestants — they are distant with 
him; but the Catholic laity mingles with Protestant 
society in one way or another ; and if Catholics are 
instructed and their lives correspond to their faith, they 
can do much to obliterate the bitterness against them. 
Protestants, as a class, do not understand our religion, 
and many of them have the strangest notions about 
our doctrine. By your conduct, then, give testimony 
of your faith, give testimony of your charity, gives tes- 
timony of Jesus 1 

Let me once more direct your attention to the testi- 
mony you give in your regularity at the August Sacri- 
fice of the Mass. I know you are not like the proud 
Pharisee who considered himself so perfect that he had 
to tell God all about it. You are humble in your devo- 
tions, you are conscious of your own frailty, and you 
are reliant upon God, without Whom you know you can- 
not succeed. From one Sunday to another you exert 
yourselves in the service of God. While you acknowl- 



SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 261 

edge your defects, you strive after perfection. In your 
toil, in your restraint over yourselves, in your devotion 
you purpose,— and the greatest, the most ardent, the 
most anxious purpose of your lives is to give glory to 
God. Behold the aged here this morning ! The man 
of many years who comes tottering to church ! Life for 
him has already reached its evening. He has had many 
trials. Often attacks were made in his presence upon 
his religion. He suffered because he was a Catholic. 
For this reason others were preferred to him. He 
felt such wrongs keenly. From his experience he 
learned that some feeble-minded Catholics abandoned 
the practice of their faith because it was an obstacle to 
their advancement. He heard conversations which 
he could not avoid ; and which not only ridiculed his 
own religion, but scoffed at God. He had, no doubt, his 
own religious difficulties ; for the human intellect 
strives to penetrate mysteries beyond its ken. But this 
morning, after all the battles of life, he comes and 
kneels before His Saviour in the tabernacle, offers Him 
his heart, and thanks Him for all the favors of life. In 
an age like ours, is this not great testimony of his faith 
in Jesus ? Is this not a grand tribute of his fidelity, a 
convincingproof of his faith, an impressive example to 
teach and direct and stimulate others to serve God ? 
Mark, too, the smallest child that enters this church this 
morning. See it kneel and make the sign of the cross. 
Observe it direct its attention to Jesus in the Blessed 
Sacrament. Behold its devotion ; and tell me, is this 
not a grand testimony of Jesus ? The simplicity of the 
child's faith, the piety upon its young face, the purity 
of the young heart, the fixedness of its gaze upon the 
altar, are the strongest confirmation of the child's love 
for Jesus and Mary, and the most exalted tribute that 
innocence and fervor can bestow. 



262 SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 

Your attendance at Mass and at other devotions of 
the Church has often been to me a source of solace 
and edification. I am glad I can compliment you upon 
your testimony of Jesus, your Friend and Redeemer. 
But while I am delighted at your devotion to those 
things which appertain to God, what can I say of the 
Catholics who are lax and irregular in their attendance 
at the services of the Church? It is some consolation 
to know that in this parish there are only a few of such 
indifferent persons. These are rarely at Mass. They 
give no edification to their Protestant neighbors ; but 
it is some satisfaction to understand that their bad 
example is not injurious to the majority of the congre- 
gation. These callous-hearted Catholics are known 
for the irregularity of their lives, and no sensible person 
is swayed by anything they do or say. They may en- 
deavor to impress their Protestant neighbors with the 
notion that they are broad-minded and liberal in their 
views ;that every form of religion is the same to them; 
that they have outlived this narrowness in religion; that 
they fraternize with everyone ; and that they would as 
soon go to a Protestant place of worship as to a Cath- 
olic. They deceive themselves ; for every upright, hon- 
est person admires and approves loyalty to conscience 
and to God. A thoughtful Protestant would say : " If 
these Catholics are convinced of the errors of their 
Church, why do they not be regular members of some 
other church. They should serve God and lead Chris- 
tian lives. Remaining away from divine service is not 
worship. The real cause of their indifference is not 
their Church ; but their indolence, their ignorance, and 
their excesses are the cause. Good Catholics go to/ 
their Church ; they are better informed than those 
Qthers, their conduct more edifying, and their veracity 



SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTEB. 263 

more reliable." Such would be the estimate this practi- 
cal Protestant would place on their behavior ; still, it is 
lamentable to see them stay at home, without even a 
thought of God or their own responsibility. They 
heard the Church bells on Sunday, pleading with them 
to come to the Divine Sacrifice. Every sound of the 
bells breaks upon their ears, entreating them, exhorting 
them to come to church ! These bells, consecrated to 
God, are as angels, messengers of heaven, imploring 
them to have some pity upon themselves ! The voice 
vibrates in their hearts and undoubtedly awakens some 
remorse ; but when the voice of the bells is hushed, so 
is their conscience. What testimony do these Cath- 
olics give of God ? What acknowledgment for His 
mercies ? What atonement for their sins? Their tes- 
timony is ingratitude to God and viciousness toward 
themselves. 

Permit me to say, before concluding, that the influ- 
ence of every good Catholic is one of the most per- 
suasive proofs of the divine institution of your Church. 
More unbelievers are led to God by the good example 
of faithful Catholics than by all controversy, however 
learned and skilful. The influence of your children, 
as they march from the school to the church on Sun- 
day, is more convincing, more argumentative, more 
commanding than the most fervent appeals of elo- 
quence. Give testimony of Jesus, therefore, by the 
fidelity of your lives, and He will not deny you before 
His Father, but will crown you with the bays of forti- 
tude and faithfulrjess. 



PENTECOST SUNDAY. 



If any one love Me, he will keep My word ; and My 
Father ivill love him, a?id we will come to him, and make 
an abode ivith him. (St. John xiv. — 23.) 

The Observance and Abuse of the Word of God. 

My Dear Brethren : The great reward obtainable by 
keeping the word of God is clearly set forth in the 
Gospel for this Sunday. If any one loves God, he 
certainly keeps His divine law, and as a recompense 
for this. Almighty God will abide in his heart. You 
take solicitous care not to offend any person whom 
you esteem or love. Your regard for such a person is 
of so sensitive a nature, that if by any mischance you 
aggrieve him, you lament your ungraciousness, and 
your feelings are more hurt than his. In a similar 
manner, if you love God you will be careful not to in- 
sult Him by sin ; and if by some misfortune you sin 
grievously against Him, you cannot rest until you have 
done all in your power to atone for your transgres- 
sion. Thus you indicate your love for Jesus. The 
rev/ard ? The Father loves you, and He and your 
Saviour will take up an abode with you. What an 
inestimable reward for your love ! What a generous 
condescension is here manifested by the Blessed 
Trinity! Truly you become the sacred temple of the 
Holy Ghost ! 

264 



PENTECOST SUNDAY. 265 

You must distinguish between hearing the word of 
God and keeping it. Many hear the sacred teaching 
of Jesus, but do not observe its saluary lessons. They 
may come to church o i Sunday, hear a^ sermon, and 
departing, leave behind them every thought embraced 
in the instructions. Can the word of God shape their 
intentions or regulate their behavior ? Can the word of 
God, about which they are so listless, form their lives 
or mould their Christian aspirations? Can they expect 
that God will take up His abode with them? It is evi- 
dent that He will not ; for where His law is not observed, 
He will not and cannot reside. You require no argu- 
ment to convince you of this, because you understand 
that God and sin cannot reside in the same person. 
Indeed, if there were no other sin disfiguring the soul 
except the sin of the neglect of the word of God, this 
would be sufficient to bar God from your hearts. But it 
is quite apparent that where the word of God is not 
regarded with love, sin there abounds. 

The observance of the law of Christ should, then, be 
a work of pleasure to everyone. You, as Catholics, 
ought to cherish it in 3^our hearts as a token of esteem 
and affection for your Saviour ; but you ought to 
do more to show your fidelity to Him ; you ought to 
exert yourselves to make His teachings loved and 
respected by others. This is particularly true in respect 
to your children. If you love Jesus, and wish that 
Himself and His Father and the Holy Ghost will honor 
you by their presence in your souls, you will train 
your children to learn and obey the word of God. 
How are you to accomplish this noble, Catholic work? 
By training your children at home to love God, and by 
sending them to your Catholic school, where Chris- 
j:ianity commingles with all other class work- Here 



266 PENTECOST SUNDAY. 

the Catholic home-training is improved, advanced, 
and moulded into true love for Jesus. Here the 
crucifix voices the love of the Redeemer for children, 
and awakens, cultivates, and stabilitates the young love 
of the child for Him Who said : " Let these come unto 
Me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.''^ A Catholic 
school is unquestionably a place where children come 
to Jesus. They come to Him by prayer, by those 
pure, affectionate meditations suggested by religious 
objects, by instructions, and by the beautiful religious 
sentiments cpntained in their readers. A Catholic 
school exists in a genuine Christian atmosphere ; an 
asylum of religious aspiration, and a refuge from the 
un-Christian contamination so prevalent in other 
places. A Catholic school is, then, a nursery where 
love for Jesus is cultured, where an abhorrence for 
everything filthy, everything base, everything un- 
Christian, guards the soul and suffers no pollution to 
enter ! In this unsullied abode of early training the 
child loves Jesus and keeps His word. The young heart 
is a temple in which the Blessed Trinity loves to reside ; 
and that Jesus reigns in this young heart, is well known 
by the peace, innocence^ and piety which adorns the 
child's face. Can you deny this ? Can any Protestant 
deny this ? No; not even an atheist would attempt to 
deny a thing so conformable to all experience. If you 
want to ma/vc a soldier, you send the youth to a military 
academy ; if you desire to make a doctor, you educate 
the youth in a medical college ; if you wish to train a 
young man in the legal profession, you surround him 
with professors skilled in the law ; and if you want to 
make a true Christian, you must place him among 
environments exhaling unadulterated Christian prin- 
ciples ! In this home of Christian instruction the child 



PENTECOST SUNDAY. 267 

imbibes a love for his Saviour and a profound respect 
for His eternal laws. 

You are not ignorant of the hazardous undertaking of 
heroic Catholic men and devout women for the pro- 
mulgation of Christian doctrine and the increase of the 
love of mankind for Christ. We shall not review the 
influence of religious women in schools and hospitals, 
but leave you to meditate upon their incalculable power 
to further the holiest aspirations and stimulate true 
love for the Son of God. Nor shall we invite you to 
consider the vast array of saints and martyrs who de- 
voted their lives to the great Christian labor of serving 
God and man. But we do wish to enlist your attention 
for a brief consideration of those valiant warriors of the 
cross who offered their toil and their lives upon the 
altars of noblest sacrifice in this country. The learned 
and indefatigable historian of the Catholic Church in 
the United States, John Gilmary Shea, records the pa- 
tient achievements of the early Catholic missionaries 
in this country. They met and overcame every obstacle. 
Hunger, privation, danger, and death deterred them 
not. For what purpose did they struggle, instruct, and 
perish? For the love of Jesus and the preaching of His 
sacred law. The Jesuits penetrated the forests of the 
north and central portion of what we now call the United 
States ; and the Franciscans taught the Indians of the 
south and extreme west. Shea tells us that by an Indian 
conspiracy twenty-two Franciscan Fathers perished in 
New Mexico during the August of 1680. In the north, 
Bancroft thus describes the Jesuits : " Religious enthus- 
iasm took possession of the wilderness in the upper 
lakes and explored the Mississippi ; the Roman Church 
and the Jesuit priests raised for Canada its altars, its 
hospitals, and its seminaries. In Canada, not a cape was 



268 PENTECOST SUNDAY. 

turned, nor a mission founded, nor a river entered, nor 
a settlement begun, but a Jesuit led the way." (Vol. ii. 
— 138.) Elsewhere he tells of their suffering and often 
of their death; and how, when the faithful band would 
be reduced by massacre, other brave, undaunted soldiers 
of the Cross would hasten forward to fill the ranks and 
meet the same dangers. Thus the Christian faith was 
borne over the great lakes, down vast rivers, and 
through pathless forests. These tireless men studied 
the different dialects of the Indian tribes, taught them 
the redeeming power of Christianity, and made the wil- 
derness a home of Catholic truths. Mass was celebrated 
in the wigwams of the savages, the Cross was planted 
upon the shores of rivulet, river, and lake, and civilized 
man knelt with the savage of the forest to adore the 
God of all mankind. Is not the recollection of the stu- 
pendous work of those heroes sufficient to awaken in 
you renewed fervor and devotion.^ Do you not rejoice 
in their heroism and applaud their fidelity? Do you not 
marvel at their fortitude and extol their success? Most 
assuredly. You cannot reflect upon the history of their 
lives without admiring their constancy and compas- 
sionating their sufferings. But for what was all this 
exposure endured ? You need not be told that it was 
for the glory of God and the promulgation of His 
doctrine. 

But now let me inquire, can you do nothing to in- 
crease the observance and love of the word of God? 
Are you unable or unwilling to do something in a cause 
for which so many great hearts have bled and died ? 
There is no question but that you can perform much 
good, and that some of you can accomplish considerable 
for love of Jesus. By the example of your lives, by the 
training of your children, by the sacrifices you make 



^ENTfiCOSt SUNDAY. ^69 

for religion, you prove yourselves in sympathy with 
those celebrated missionaries who once traversed the 
wilds of this great nation. To keep the word of God is, 
therefore, an ennobling work ; for by so doing you 
become missionaries preaching, by the conduct of your 
lives, the love of Jesus, and the respect which everyone 
should have for His precepts. The work which a 
devout, practical Catholic can perform is inestimable. 
The influence he has in a parish cannot be over- 
estimated. Almighty God resides in his soul and 
co-operates with him for the accomplishment of untold 
good. 

Yea, but how many so-called Christians do not 
observe the word of God ! They are strangers to His 
graces, and often enemies to the dissemination of His 
doctrine. How many Catholics, too, practice not this 
doctrine, which would increase their happiness here, 
while it would guarantee an eternal abode with the 
Father of heaven and earth ! How many a Catholic 
hears and knows the word of Jesus, still by his behavior 
defies the law of Jesus ! Such persons know the word 
of salvation, still, hate their neighbor, rejoice at his 
miseries, and mourn his prosperity. Are these not 
Catholics who have banished every trace of the word of 
God from their souls and every vestige of early training 
from their hearts? They are involved in the meshes of 
sin, sunk into dissipation, disregarded, dishonored, and 
disgraced. How many a Catholic, not satisfied with 
his own debasement, pulls down other souls into the 
filth in which himself wallows ! Having driven the 
word of God from his own bosom, he beguiles others 
into the same terrible misfortune. His ambition is not 
to promote the welfare of human nature, but to tarnish, 
corrupt and debase it ; his ambition is not to keep the 



2 TO PENTECOST SUNDAY. 

word of God, but to destroy it ; his ambition is not to 
elevate himself and his fellows, but condemn both 
to wretchedness and despair here and beyond the grave! 
And if there is profit or advancement in such fiendish 
undertakings, what will he not attempt ? What debase- 
ment so low into which he will not plunge himself and 
his fellow man ? Oh, how wretched is he who keeps 
not the word of God in his heart. The Father and the 
Son are exiled from his soul, and instead of his being 
a temple of the Holy Ghost, he is an abode of Satan. 
From the first man who was created till the present 
moment, disobedience to the word of God has entailed 
havoc and misery, and thus it will continue to devastate 
the human race. Devout observance of the teachings 
of the Gospel is the surest guide to peace and the best 
protection against dire calamity. Sickness and death 
may come as a consequence of our now neglect and 
the first sin which cursed the earth, but these are only 
natural inheritances ; and when not provoked by our 
own excesses, are neither disgraceful nor sinful. It 
is sin, itis the violation of God's law which brings male- 
diction in its train. What is it that fills our jails with 
the enemies of society ? What crowds our peniten- 
tiaries and reformatories? What leads the unfortunate 
to the scaffold? What corrupts our judges, destroys 
domestic peace, debases our legislatures, but the non- 
observance of the divine law ? Whence arise all the 
contentions between Capital and Labor ? Why does 
one man oppress another ? Why does one defame 
another, rob another, murder another? Simply be- 
cause the teachings of the Saviour of mankind are not 
observed. They are banished from the hearts of many. 
They regulate not the affairs of many, and the result 
is oppression, wretchedness, and untimely death. The 



PENTECOST SUNDAY. 271 

same cause has impoverished nations, plunged them 
into war which cost thousands of men and countless 
millions of dollars. 

There is a man. He totters as he walks. The side- 
walk is not broad enough for him. He must occupy 
the gutter. What is it that has benumbed his physical 
powers? What has robbed him of his reason? What 
has sunk him below the brute? You tell me he has 
been indulging too copiously. Yes ; but did he not then 
or previously expel the word of Jesus from his soul? 
And by so acting has he not degraded himself, de- 
throned his reason, and infested himself and his sad 
home with desolation and want? What about all the 
mortal sins, — impurity, incontinency, perjury, suicide 
— and all the other letcherous crimes which ruin society 
and the state? It is the abuse of God's word, which 
pillages a nation by the wickedness of its rulers ; it is 
the abuse of God's word, which robs the judicial bench 
of its sacred regard for justice ; it is the abuse of God's 
word, which deprives the national councils of their 
wisdom and makes the members thereof rapacious in 
their own personal interests ; it is the abuse of God's 
word, which causes tyranny and revolution ; it is the 
abuse of God's word, which makes right consist in 
power, which makes justice a mockery, which impels 
the strong nation to crush the liberties of the weak, 
which annuls the rights of the masses and proclaims 
wealth a dictator ! A nation which departs from the 
observance of the law of God will not long maintain its 
liberties nor its equalities. It will decay as many 
another nation has decayed. Well, indeed, it would be 
were statesmen to learn from the downfall of other 
nations. As God abandons the individual who ignores 
His eternal decrees, so he forsakes the nation which 



272 PENTECOST SUNDAY. 

despises the precepts of the Gospel ; and disorder, ruin, 
and humiliation are the inevitable consequences. 

But he who observes the law taught by the Re- 
deemer and diffused by His Church, will be loved by 
the Father. An affectionate union will exist between 
such a creature and his Creator. Duringf the brief 
span of mundane existence he will be a child of 
heaven, and the dews of God's benedictions will en- 
rich his soul. He will be more honored, more esteemed, 
more trustworthy than the violator of the divine order. 
Notwithstanding the vicissitudes of this life, peace will 
abide in his heart, — that peace which the martyrs and 
saints enjoyed in their tribulations ; that peace which the 
world cannot give ; that peace which emanates from 
the source of all good — Almighty God. A true fol- 
lower of Christ possesses this tranquillity. His every 
act is in conformity with the divine word. Before 
every transaction he examines its nature to see whether 
it conflicts with the law of God ; and hence he is guided 
in all his undertakings by the Holy Spirit. His am- 
bition is to conform his will with the will of the Most 
High. His deliberations and actions are preceded by 
prayer. He invokes the blessing of God upon his 
enterprises ; and if he fail, it is the will of God, in order 
that divine love may draw him closer to itself, and 
teach him how perishable and uncertain are the things 
of this life ; how positive and enduring are the things 
of heaven. 

On this solemn and glorious feast of Pentecost, to- 
gether we have considered to some extent our text. But 
we should not be satisfied with so brief a meditation; we 
should often reflect upon our duty in observing the word 
which Jesus taught, and our mind ought to revert often 
to this great feast upon which the Holy Ghost gave to 



PENTECOST SUNDAY 278 

the Apostles knowledge and fortitude to preach infal- 
libly the doctrine entrusted to them. To-day we should 
live in thought among those sacred places which were 
immortalized by the birth of Christianity. To-day we 
should recall the Ascension of our Saviour into heaven 
and the miraculous effects of the Descent of the Holy 
Ghost upon the Apostles. On the birth-day of this 
feast which you celebrated to-day, Christianity was 
animated with life, courage, and ceaseless endurance by 
the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. The spirit 
imparted to the Apostles on that memorable occasion 
continues to stimulate and direct the Church. It was 
this spirit which bore the standard of the Cross to this 
vast continent ; it was this spirit which sustained the 
missionary in his anxieties, privations, and martyrdom ; 
and this spirit teaches the observance of the Gospel and 
its consequent reward — the love of the Blessed Trinity 
for every faithful Christian. The love for Jesus, and the 
promulgation of His doctrine, drew Columbus from 
his native land, encouraged him in all his efforts for 
preparation, and nerved his soul as he lost sight of 
the coast of Spain. It was this love which braved the 
dangers of the wilderness, which offered the Adorable 
Sacrifice of the Mass where a white man had never 
before prayed. It was this love and this spirit infused 
into the Church on Pentecost, which raised the cross on 
the banks of the rivers and the lakes of this country, and 
maintained against all opposition its power and influence 
in the New World. ''Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations," 
says our Saviour to His Apostles ; and this injunction 
has continued to be obeyed, and will continue to be 
obeyed to the end of time. " Teaching them to observe 
all things whatsoever I have commanded ye!' — " Teach 
them to keep My word : teach them to be devout Chris- 



2U 



PENTECOST SUNDAY. 



tians ; teach them to aspire to heaven, that My Father 
may love them, and that the Father and I may take up 
an abode in their souls ! " 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 



A fid they began all at once to make excuse. (St. Luke, 
xiv.— 18.) 

The Folly of Worldly Desires. 

My Dear Brethren : Our Divine Lord by this par- 
able calls our attention to His everlasting banquet — 
the kingdom of heaven. It is prepared for all who 
love Him. In truth, all are invited to the supper, but 
not all will participate therein. The reason for their 
absence is obvious. A preparation is necessary for 
admission to the banquet hall where Almighty God 
appeases the hunger and thirst of souls famishing for 
the great object of all their pious desires. A prepara- 
tion is necessary ; still, how many neglect to prepare. 
They are too engrossed with the affairs of this life even 
to heed the invitation. They are engaged, entirely 
engaged with their farms and oxen, with their merchan- 
dise and bank accounts, with seeking office and secur- 
ing political power, to comply with the invitation. 
They prefer the attractions of time to the joys of eter- 
nity. They attempt to seize the passing shadow, 
while they neglect the permanent, the everlasting. 

You will observe, however, that those who refused the 
invitation did not accuse themselves of any crime. 
They were not even in any mischief. They were all 
profitably engaged, as the world understands profit. 
Our Saviour charges them with no positive offence. He 



276 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 



does not say they are thieves, or rascals, or drunkards, 
or anything of that kind. Their sin is of a negative 
nature. They are too interested in securing the perish- 
able, while they omit and reject the obedience and 
homage due the Supreme Being. You may consider 
them foolish for not accepting the invitation ; but we 
are just as unwise when we attend not to those things 
pertaining to our eternal salvation. Indeed, some 
Catholics are more foolish, because our Divine Lord 
could be more severe with them for rejecting His invi- 
tation. Can He not say, these refused because they 
were engaged in many and many a revolting crime? 
How often He has entreated such Catholics to abandon 
their wicked ways, and how seldom they comply with 
His entreaty. They are engaged in violating God's 
commandments, in wronging others, and in disregard- 
ing the appeals of their Church. They cannot say fare- 
well to these offences. They are convinced that the 
period of time from a mother's caresses to the grave's 
reception, is brief. Observation has impressed this 
important truth upon them, still they act as though 
they never saw a funeral. The allurements and blan- 
dishments of earth have more attractions for them than 
the things of heaven. Is this not supreme folly ? The 
greatest and noblest honors of earth will vanish when 
the Angel of Death appears. They are only fleeting 
phantoms. Why does not man, then, seek his attrac- 
tions in heaven ? 

Peruse the history of the human race, and what do 
you discover ? All who were lauded to the skies, live 
now only in the memory of written thought. Where is 
the consummate general whose valor decked him with 
martial glory ? His prestige is swallowed up by the 
tomb. Where is the sagacious statesmen whose achieve- 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 277 

merits won him the plaudits of a nation ? Ask the 
dust in his grave. Would you seek the tyrant who 
gloried in the diadem of despotism ? Go ask the tomb 
what power he now enjoys. The mighty tongue which 
swayed multitudes by its charming and persuasive elo- 
quence is hushed by the silence of the cemetery. The 
hand skilful with the chisel or the brush was robbed 
of its animation by the paralyzing touch of death. 
Where are the avaricious — those who devoured their 
fellow man that they might be enriched ? Their de- 
sires are vanquished, and scattered is their opulence. 
Whither would you search for the beauty and the gor- 
geousness that have adorned the festive halls of ages 
now past ? Magnificent they were in their blandish- 
ments, and their gracefulness was a magnet of attrac- 
tion. Now they are dust ! Their names have perished 
from the land in which they were idols ; and their power 
and influence are no more than the dust of their mortal 
remains. Thus disappears the pomp and fascination 
of greatness ; yea, and meanness, too. " Smely man pas- 

seih as a7i image : he storeth up, aJid he hioiveth not 

for whom he shall gather those things^ (Psalm xxxviii. 

-7-) 

** But not all of man will die." The spirit rises tri- 
umphant over this destruction or deplores its own exis- 
tence. The good rejoice with their Divine Master 
Whom they faithfully served. The wicked receive the 
punishment which their deeds merit. It follows, there- 
fore, that he only is great who is righteous. He is 
great on earth in being a child of heaven ; he is great 
in heaven for being devoted on earth to Almighty God. 
He might have suffered the pangs of adverse fortune, 
but like some great mountain peak, he rose above the 
^lovids of adversity, and "midway left the storm" to 



278 SECOND SUNDAY AFTEK PENTECOST. 

find solace in the bosom of his Saviour. When crowns 
fall at the grave's brink, when beauty fades before the 
wand of Death, when power is transformed into fear 
by the tombstone, when wealth is relinquished by the 
last will and testament to unworthy heirs, then Chris- 
tian virtue triumphs and looks with confidence beyond 
the chasm of Death ! The discomforts of earth are 
forgotten and hope springs from the promises of Jesus, 
the Redeemer and Friend of the faithful ! God is the 
great centre of attraction for devout Christians. Above 
and beyond every other attraction He is the wor- 
shipped object of all their desires. Then, let your 
aspirations go out to Him. Let no other desire eclipse 
this eternal centre of Christian love. Practice virtue 
every day of )^our life ; for, 

" Know then this truth, enough for man to know, 
Virtue alone is happiness here below."— Pope. 

It cannot be denied but that the world is becoming 
more and more infatuated with the tinsels of mundane 
greatness. Wealth is king and dictator ; and in the shape 
of monopolies and trusts, he becomes a despot — a des- 
pot to grind the poor, to deprive the laborer of his right- 
ful compensation, and to plunder the markets. In 
many respects the lowly are worse situated than in ages 
now dead. The spirit of selfishness is more grasping, 
while charity and faith are insufficient to curb the greed 
of the powerful. National rulers stand forth the per- 
sonification of avarice and injustice. It is a crime for a 
nation now to be weak. Such offer a tempting induce- 
ment to a great, ambitious nation to invade the weak 
one's territory ; and under the guise of civilization and 
the advancement of Christian principles, plunder with- 
out remorse, devastate with impunity, and murder in 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTEll PENTECOST. 279 

the name of religion and liberty ! The ministers of 
Christ raise their voice against such fiendish depreda- 
tions ; they proclaim the invitation sent forth by the 
Saviour of mankind ; they warn, they exhort ; but the 
rapacious rulers and the trusts and the political " rings " 
are too busy to give any attention or to comply with 
the laws of justice and humanity. Some are too busy 
inculcating religion and civilization at the point of the 
bayonet — teaching a people morals who are better 
than the invader and more Christian than their new 
teachers. These have no time to consider the invitation 
announced by our Divine Lord. They are fanatics, and 
their fanaticism blinds them. In minor affairs others 
are so engaged that they have no time to prepare for the 
banquet to which all are invited by a merciful God. In 
our day, too, some must attend to their farms, others 
are married to non-Catholics, and these prevent the for- 
mer from giving that attention and care to the affair of 
their salvation which are necessary. Some more have 
their mercantile business to manage. One has his 
family, another his bonds, a third his stocks, a fourth 
his investments ; but no one has time enough to reflect 
upon the imperishable. The markets absorb the atten- 
tion of many. Others are engaged with inventions, 
with study, with enterprise ; but how many are absorbed 
in the contemplation of those things which endure be- 
yond the grave's consumption ? What is more deplor- 
able, some deny all future accountability. For them 
there is no God ! No hereafter ! To guile their con- 
science, to seize without scruple the things of others, 
to trample without fear upon the rights of others, to 
enjoy without restraint sinful pleasure, they cry out : 
** There is no God ! " 

But, now, my Christian friends, were we to examine 



280 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

ourselves this morning, could we truthfully say that 
our conduct is that of sincere, practical Catholics ? Do 
we heed the invitation of our Saviour calling upon us to 
prepare for the banquet of heaven ? Are we not too 
indifferent, too careless, too inactive ? Do we not say 
to ourselves, there is time enough ? Later on, when we 
are not so occupied with care and business, we will 
give our undivided attention to the practice of our 
holy religion. While the majority of Catholics are 
earnest in their devotion to God, are there not, never- 
theless, some who love the idols of earth ? They 
ignore the voice of conscience crying to them words 
of warning and counsel. Pleasure occupies their hearts 
and consumes their souls. They are repeatedly ad- 
monished, yet they cling to these worldly attractions 
which make slaves of them. The sinful pursuits of life 
rob them of honor, corrode the heart, blight the 
affections, destroy health, damn the soul ! Judging 
from their recklessness, you would conclude there is no 
God for them except the idols of drunkenness and 
impurity. To propitiate these gods there is no family 
endearment they will not sacrifice ; no noble pursuit they 
will not abandon ; no shame they will not endure ! 
These constitute their heaven — these are their gods ! 
How fiendish to themselves ! How ungrateful to God ! 
Their Saviour pleads with them to come to Him and 
He will pardon all. The ministers of His Church 
implore them to forsake the sinful, destructive haunts 
of iniquity, but in vain. Our merciful Saviour may be 
compelled to rebuke them with the words of the Book 

of Proverbs : ''Because I have called, aiidyou refused, 

I also will laugh i?i yotir destructio?i ; I will mock wheii that 
shall come to you which you fear . " (i. — 24,26.) 

Others, though they drink not of the poisonous 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTEE PENTECOST. 281 

springs of excess, nevertheless are careless about their 
salvation. It is not altogether by avoiding evil, but in 
doing good, that the kingdom of God is reached. 
We should be energetic in good works, and from day 
to day increase our capital in heaven. Instead of this, 
we are usually solicitous for the things of earth. The 
farmer has his vexations, the mechanic his duties, the 
merchant his business — all, or nearly all, have something 
to distract their mind and absorb their attention. The 
one great object of life is generally overlooked : " Seek 
ye firstthe ki?igdo7n of God and His justice T ( St. Math. vi. — 
33.) Indeed, this appeal in our day seems to be inverted. 
Everything else is sought first ; and the search for 
the kingdom of God is postponed until the eyes are 
dim, the step slow, the heart cold, and the aspirations 
enfeebled by old age. When our earthly career is 
approaching its terminus, we may with regret acknowl- 
edge the truth of the following words : " What hath pride 
profited us ; or wha-t advantage hath the boasting of riches 
brought us ? All those things are passed away like a 
shadow y (Wisdom v. — 8.) 

It is nonsense, and certainly unbecoming a Christian, 
to seek with feverish toil the transitory things of earth. 
You have, no doubt, often experienced the insignifi- 
cance of things acquired, though you once craved for 
them with anxious fervor. After much effort and in- 
cessant labor you obtained them ; and after you had 
toyed with them for a while they lost their charm. They 
pleased you for awhile, just as the dazzling colors of a 
soap bubble delights a child. But the bubble breaks 
and the beauty disappears . So it is with the bubbles and 
the toys of mature years. What satisfied you yesterday, 
to-day are irksome to you. What you long for now 
\yill soon lose its fascinating attractiveness when it is 



282 SECOND SUNDAY AFIER PENTECOST. 

yours. The more the cravings of the heart are pam- 
pered, the more the heart desires. Earthly attractions 
serve as fuel for the flame. The more obtained, the 
more the fires of human desire are increased. Withdraw 
the fuel, and the consuming heart will get relief. Be 
contented with a few things, that God may place you 
over many in His kingdom. Listen not to the enchant- 
ing mesmerism of wealth, of pleasure, or of intemper- 
ance. If you are bewitched by these sirens, they will 
bind you heart and soul. You will be slaves, and in 
this slavery you will be unhappy ; because you have 
ruthlessly severed the golden strands of that friend- 
ship which made you children of your Heavenly Father. 
We should, then, discipline ourselves to be content 
with our condition in life and moderate our desires. 
Our desires should never be permitted to become 
immoderate or to subdue our reason, though we may 
justly labor to improve our condition. We should 
weigh, things carefully, and understand that every thing 
we wish may not be beneficial for us. Indeed, it may be 
that the very things we seek may augment our troubles. 
We often overestimate or underestimate the condition 
of others. We are dissatisfied with our own lot, and 
consequently magnify the advantages of another's 
position. The farmer would be a lawyer ; the lawyer, a 
doctor ; the doctor, a scientist ; a president, a king. 
Some are not pleased with their vocations. They 
would not be, were they to embrace all the professions 
and all the trades. Something would still be wanting. 
The poet speaks truthfully : 

" Man never is. but always to be blessed ; 
The soul, uneasy and confined at home, 
Rests and expatiates in a life to come." — (Pope.) 

The soul's yearning indicates its tendency, and the 



SECOND SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 'ZH(^ 

true object of that tendency is Almighty God. Disen- 
cumber the soul of worldly attractions, and it will soar 
to heaven as naturally as the mariner's needle turns to 
the pole. Trample to earth your unabated desires. 
They destroy your tranquillity and exhaust even your 
physical strength without compensation. Do not, how- 
ever, understand me to say that you should make no 
effort to advance in the honest employments of life. 
Righteousness is not incompatible with progress, but 
is the guardian angel of true advancement. A sage 
may be saint ; a dunce, a devil. 

Let us, therefore, always remember that we were not 
created to dwell forever on earth ; that our destiny is 
higher and nobler ; that we have been invited to the 
banquet of heaven, where God will satisfy our desires. 
Let us pray earnestly and constantly that we may be 
present at that everlasting feast. Let us hunger and 
thirst, but not for the perishable things of earth, but 
for the imperishable with God ; because, ** Blessed are 
they ivho hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall be 
filled r 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 



So I say to you, there shall be joy before the angels of God 
up'oji o?ie sinner doing penanee. (Luke xv. — lo.) 

On Repentance. 

My Dear Brethren : In to-day's Gospel you easily 
perceive the tenderness and mercy of the Saviour of 
mankind. He represents Himself as a shepherd leav- 
ing the ninety-nine sheep which are safe in the fold, and 
searching for the one which is lost. Finding it, He 
takes it upon His shoulders, brings it home, and invites 
the angels of heaven to rejoice. This beautiful example 
of the love of Jesus for the erring o'nes is intensified 
when you consider the Shepherd and the interest heaven 
takes in your salvation. What encouragement for 
those Catholics who have strayed far from the fold of 
Christ's Church ! Hov/ these words of the Gospel 
should pierce their souls and arouse a spirit of deepest 
contrition ! They have been headstrong and unrelent- 
ing in their wicked impetuosity, obstinate in their 
sins ; but the Saviour has not abandoned them. Re- 
peatedly He has sought them out, supplicated them 
to return, remonstrated with them;' but, alas ! they 
would not listen. He then visits them with adversity, 
with sickness, ill-fortune, or the death of some dear 
friend or beloved relative. It may be through the 
instrumentality of a good book or through the in^ 

284 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 285 

ducement of a friend to enter a church, that they 
become converted. In some manner or another Jesus 
touches the heart, and the barren rock gives forth the 
fertilizing waters of repentance. From a polluted 
tongue and a sordid soul comes forth the cry for mercy. 
The angels of God rejoice ; and Jesus, the Good Shep- 
herd, brings back the erring children of His Church. 
The angels of heaven might exclaim : " What is there 
in perverse man, that God is so mindful of him ! " 

Yea, this is a problem which bafHes human intellect. 
Why is Almighty God so mindful of corrupt man, is a 
question which a sage cannot answer. " What a piece 
of work is man ! " says Shakespeare. Yea, Ije is a model 
piece of work, because he was planned and fashioned by 
his Creator ! He is a noble piece of work in chastity, 
in temperance, in Christian fortitude ! But in impurity, 
drunkenness, and infidelity he is a degraded mass of 
human filth ! In rebellion against God, he is a fallen 
angel — fallen from that high position he enjoyed in 
that morning of his first Communion — fallen from 
that beautiful sphere of grace in which he was so happy 
for many years 1 Yea, he is a fallen angel and with 
Lucifer in Milton boastfully exclaims : 

" Here we may reign secured, and in my choice 
To reign is worth ambition, though in hell ; 
Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven." 

Yea, to reign is, too, the sinner's ambition ; to lead in 
rebellion against His Saviour ; to reign in the region of 
sin ; to reign in the hell of his creation ; to reign amidst 
the fiendish associates of that hell ! 

Now, consider the mercy of God. He goes to that 
sinner, as low and as shameful as he has become. 
He assures that sinner that he can still become a child 
of heaven. He entreats that sinner to come to the fold, 



2S(J THIRD SUNDAY AFTFK PENTECOST. 

whence the allurements of sin had enticed him, or 
the force of unrestrained passion had driven him. He 
tells that sinner that his sins will be blotted out for- 
ever, and that the angels of heaven will rejoice at his 
conversion. Might you not in wonderment reflect upon 
this amazing condescension of your Saviour ? Might 
you not in astonishment follow in thought your Re- 
deemer as He goes in search of this lost sheep? Weari- 
less He seeks him; and though often rebuffed, He does 
not forsake him until the sinner returns, or until he 
shows his determination to reject every proffered aid 
of divine grace. If he accept the arms of his Saviour 
stretched out to receive him, the renovating influence 
of penance will pervade his soul ; and again he will 
kneel at the feet of Jesus and ask for pardon and for 
help. Again, he will approach the holy tribunal of 
penance while angels are praying for him ; and while 
contrition rises from his sorrowing heart to plead for 
mercy, the sacred blood of Jesus purifies his soul. 
How happy he is now in the Church of his childhood ; 
in the Church in which he received first Holy Commun- 
ion ; in the Church in which the fondest recollections of 
more peaceful days are entwined. The gentle, joyful 
effects of divine grace fill his soul ; and he rejoices that 
he is once more in the friendship of his God. 

Repentance, which is necessary for the pardon of sin 
in the Sacrament of Penance, must not, however, be con- 
founded with that shame which often besmirches the 
transgressor, or with remorse which corrodes the heart, 
engenders despair, and drives its victim to self-ruin. 
Repentance is pleasing to God, and brings graces and 
consolation to the penitent. The declaration of Jesus 
that " there shall be joy before the angels of God upo?i one 
sinner doing penance'' fills us with hope. But we should 



i 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 287 

not deceive ourselves by thinking that shame or re- 
morse is contrition. A person may be overwhelmed 
with shame because his sin becomes public. This is 
not penitence. It is self-love. Again, a person may 
suffer the pangs of remorse on account of some injury 
done by him to some great-souled friend ; or on ac- 
count of health ruined by sinful excesses. But this is 
not sorrow for sin. It is regret or despair. True 
repentance arises from a soul afflicted; because it has 
rent apart the friendship which bound it to its Creator. 
But just as a convalescent must avoid a relapse and 
shun in the future the cause of his sickness, so must 
a penitent take precaution to evade the contagion of sin. 
A penitent who is sincere with himself, who laments 
his offences against God, will remove the causes of 
former sins, shun the occasions thereof, remedy the 
effects and consequences as far as he is able, and ener- 
getically employ the means required for persever- 
ance in the peace of God. Unless he comply with 
these stipulations, he is not converted ; nor does he 
truthfully renounce the insults offered to his Maker. 
Though he has gone to confession, his condition is not 
improved. If he is truly repentant, he will in the first 
place remove the causes and the proximate occasions 
of his former sins. It may be, the reading of bad books 
and bad newspapers has seared his soul. The feast en- 
joyed in this pernicious diversion filled his soul with 
the germs of many a crime and awakened all the 
licentious passions of his heart. This vicious reading 
not only sowed the seed of sin, but watered it from 
springs which have their source in hell. Ah ! my friends, 
if any of you have thus poisoned your soul and blighted 
the genuine affections of the heart, you must forever 
abandon this destructive dissipation ; otherwise you 



288 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

are not sincere in }'our repentance. A book which a 
young man or young woman would not read aloud to 
his or her parents, is a book that you must consign to 
the flames. A book, too, which must be kept under 
lock and key is a curse to a Christian family. Banish 
from your homes these enemies of morality, these in- 
stigators of a wicked life, these destroyers of precious 
time ! 

Have you fallen into sin by attending dances, or have 
you found them dangerous to virtue ? If so, your moral 
life demands you to shun such danger. Beware lest in 
the ball-room you receive your first introduction to 
the demon of sin ! Should you find or suspect that 
where others have been decoyed by the charm of im- 
moral blandishments, you also are in peril, then repent- 
ance requires you to refrain from such snares. But 
your Christian fortitude will protect you ? Alas ! 
how many a one has been ruined by' an over-reliant 
confidence in his own powers. He who fears not dan- 
ger w^'U perish therein. Remember, if these haunts of 
allurement have been an occasion of sin to you, you 
are obliged to avoid them forever. This is a requisite 
of penance. It will not profit you anything to make 
weekly confessions, if you continue to expose your- 
selves to dangers which have heretofore proved your 
enemies. You must eradicate the cause, and shun the 
proximate occasion of sin in order that your contrition 
may be acceptable to your offended God. 

Having resolved to avoid the proximity of sin, and 
with prayer supplicated the throne of the Most High 
for aid in this arduous undertaking, we must turn our 
attention to restitution. Penitence demands that we 
make good all the injuries of which we are guilty. If 
we have involved ourselves in debt, or in anv manner 



1 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 289 

unjustly taken another's goods, we cannot or should not 
console ourselves witlr the thought that these are can- 
celled by our compunction of heart. No sorrow, no 
tears are sufficient to atone for an injustice done our 
neighbor. Restitution is the thing indispensable. On 
the other hand, if we have slandered our neighbor's 
reputation, we are obliged to make reparation. It is 
incumbent upon us not only to correct our tongue, but 
to repair the damage inflicted by our speech. How 
grievously one may offend in this way ; and how little 
he cares to satisfy for his or her vile, unmerciful attacks ! 
But you must remember that reparation is obligatory. 
Hesitate not in the accomplishment of this painful ob- 
ligation. It requires you to trample upon your own 
conceits ; yet it will elevate you in the esteem of heaven. 
Such humiliation may rob you of a part of your temporal 
prestige, but angels will rejoice at your conversion, — you 
wn'll " bring forth fruit in penance." In your frailty you 
sinned and inflicted injury upon others. Now break 
away from the moorings of human weakness. Save 
yourselves, and by your example save others who are 
shipwrecked upon the billows of passion or submerged 
by the waves of remorse and despair. 

There still remains another requirement to which I 
ought to direct your attention. It is that of persever- 
ance. To make a good resolution is not difficult ; but 
to continue faithful in the resolve, is no easy matter. 
Our nature is frail ; it needs assistance. To prevent 
a relapse is better than to prescribe remedies when the 
patient is deathly sick. One great preventive against 
sin is employment. Keep yourselves occupied. When 
the mind and body are engaged, pernicious thoughts 
find no room ; nor do the seductions of the world find 
an audience in a soul busied with the achievements of 



290 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

industry. Therefore, employ yourselves. Labor en- 
genders contentment and tranquillity of heart. Labor 
well borne and offered to God, becomes meritorious, 
enriches the soul, elevates the toiler, and protects him 
from the infectious influence of wicked associations ! 
Prayer must not be overlooked in a subject of this 
kind. It is the food of perseverance ! It induces the 
mind to contemplate the Creator, His mercies, and His 
rewards. It sustains the penitent's fidelity to his reso- 
lution, and obtains for him the assistance of divine grace. 
Ask, therefore, your merciful Father for aid. He will 
not abandon a contrite heart. ^'Ask and yoti shall re- 
ceive,^' are His words of encouragement to the sinner. 
Go frequently to confession; you will thus secure the 
grace of this sacrament ; you will be reanimated ; a new 
spirit will pervade your whole being. A ransomed soul 
will thank God for its freedom ! A pure heart will dis- 
cern the unmasked follies and sinful tortures of a wick- 
ed life ! What was once considered a charm of licen- 
tiousness will be undisguised, and appear in its hideous 
repulsiveness. A salutary hatred for all pleasures 
which decoy from God, will protect the penitent from 
relapse. Nourish yourselves also with the Bread of 
Angels, — the Bread which came down from heaven to 
be your sustenance and salvation. '' / am the livht 
Bread which came down from heaven,^^ says our Divine 
Saviour. ''Ifa?iy man eat of this Bread, he shall live for- 
ever ; and the bread zvhich Izvill give is My flesh for the life 
ofthe worlds (St. John vi. — 51,52.) How generous You 
are, O God ! to us weak creatures. You go in search 
for Your erring children, and with divine patience You 
labor to persuade them to return to blissful peace. In 
return for their submissiveness, You make them taber- 
nacles in which Yourself resides, and promise them a 
dwellincr in Your eternal mansions. 



<r 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 291 

Finally, let me say that repentance consists in hatred 
for sin and love for God. Melancholy, morbid fear 
should have no resting-place in the penitent's heart. 
Jesus does not say that Mary Magdalen feared Him, 
but that she loved Him. " Many sins are forgiven her 
because she loved much. " (St. Luke vii. — 47. ) Repent- 
ance and pardon are the purifying waters which have 
their sources in love. Mary Magdalen loved Jesus ; 
St. Augustine loved Jesus ; and many another penitent 
saint loved Jesus ; and it was their love co-operating 
with the merciful, gentle, persuasive entreaties of Jesus- 
which conducted them back to the fold whence they 
had strayed. How happy a penitent is when he is once 
more in the friendship of the Good Shepherd. The 
heart is buoyant, the soul exultant and grateful. An- 
other Magdalen yields to the persuasiveness of her 
Redeemer; another Monica has been heard, and an- 
other Augustine becomes a saint. Their lives should in- 
struct us. After their conversion they remained fervent, 
faithful, and affectionate in their attachment to Jesus. 
Magdalen bathed her Saviour's feet with her tears, and 
on the morning of the Resurrection she hastened to the 
tomb to anoint these same feet. Her love had not 
diminished. St. Augustine, after his conversion, devo- 
ted his life to advance the glory of God and atone for 
his sins. His great works bespeak the intensity of his 
love. During all the ages how many a sinner has be- 
come a penitent, and how many a penitent has become 
a saint, and how many such saints are now in heaven 
with the Good Shepherd ! 

Listen, then, to the voice of the Good Shepherd 
calling you to repentance, and through repentance to 
peace, and through peace to a joyful realization of His 
loving mercy. He points with compassion to the con- 



292 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 



tessional, and whispers to the soul hope and fortitude. 
The confessional is the refuge of sinners, the consola- 
tion of broken hearts, the solace of the afflicted, the 
sustenance of saints, a benevolent repository of Christ's 
love and mercy to mankind ! Let us kneel there with 
the spirit of true repentance, and while the priest is 
pronouncing the words of absolution Jesus will kindly 
whisper : " The angels of God congratulate you upon 
your presence here and rejoice in your conversion." 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 



Be sober and ivatch. ( i Epistle of St. Peter v. — 8.) 

On Gambling. 

My Dear Brethren : These few words comprise a 
very comprehensive exhortation. If carefully observed, 
they will be of great benefit to us . You will agree that 
it is of inestimable utility for us to be sober in all our 
affairs, and to be vigilant lest some time we make a 
mistake. St. Peter entreats us to be on our guard. " Be- 
cause our adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion goeth 
about, seeking whom he may devour." It is conse- 
quently necessary for us to be vigilant if we are desirous 
to avoid his snares. Even in temporal affairs vigilance 
is requisite if we would sail clear of these hidden 
promontories upon which so many have been wrecked. 
The Father of our Country has wisely said that '*Eter- 
nal vigilance is the price of Liberty." This maxim is as 
essential in individual pursuits as it is in perpetuating 
the stability of a nation. You must watch if you wish 
to be successful. It is just when you think you are 
secure that you may meet opposition ; or as the Sac- 
red Scriptures admonish : ''' Beware when you standbiest 
you fall P You may congratutate yourselves in this 
manner : " Nowl am safe. Everything prospers. 
There is not a speck of a threatening cloud upon the 
sky. The current which bears me onward is as smooth 
3.S pL summer's sea. No danger is near. I can relax 

293 



294 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

the oars ; everything is propitious." Just then a storm 
breaks, and from a quarter whence you least expected 
trouble. A storm, too, it may be, which will tax your 
energies and may exhaust your judgment to overcome. 
Undoubtedly you have observed this stern perverseness 
in temporal concerns ; nor can you be ignorant of the 
opposition met on the way to Christian perfection. 
Hence the sage advice of Peter : " Be sober ajid watch!' 
Now, when I say with St. Peter, that you should be 
sober, you may soliloquize with yourselves in this fash- 
ion : " He is always talking about drunkenness. Ex- 
horting us to be sober, just as if we were a congregation 
of sots. It is temperance in season and out of season 
with him." Well, my Christian friends, a person may 
be intemperate in more ways than drinking. A man 
may be very abstemious in his physical cravings, but 
very intemperate in his mental foresight and mental oc- 
cupations. He is not a sober-minded man, who is not 
vigilant; he is not a sober-minded man, who neglects his 
duties ; he is not a sober-minded man, who is rash in his 
judgment or mad in his excesses ! He certainly is not 
a sober-minded man, nor a prudent man, nor a wise man, 
who indulges in games of chance ! These games make 
him mad. From the time he begins to be a gambler, he 
is sharpening the dagger which will pierce hisown heart, 
or the heart of some other person. He departs from the 
ways of honesty; and to meet the demands of the gam- J 

ing table, he will betray trust, rob his family, and plun- 
der if he can. He looses, but he is determined he will 
win. The more he looses, the more determined he 
becomes. His losses fire him with passion and with 
resolve. " I must win," he says to himself. " I must 
win, and will win. I am not discouraged. In the 
lexicon of a gambler there is no such word as fail ! 



1 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTEH PENTECOST. 295 

Though I am * dead broke,' I shall borrow ; and if I 
cannot borrow, I will steal ! I will have my money 
back, and show those fellows that they do not know 
all the tricks of gambling. Luck is now against me, 
but pluck I have, and pluck must win ! '* Such is his 
condition and such his resolve. Watch him at the 
game. See the intensity of passion in his face ; see the 
nervous expression, the haggard look, the madman's 
glare ! Hear the subdued growl, then the fierce vehe- 
mence, the ferocious oath, the mad determination — 
again all is lost ! He begs his associates to loan him 
enough to start again ; but they are weary of lending 
to him ; and there is little profit in winning their own 
money. They refuse. Then he pawns his goods ; or, 
if he is in a position to forge notes or plunder his em- 
ployer, he immediately resorts to this dangerous and 
destructive way of filling his purse for the next game. 
Now you reply : " We do not intend to go to such 
extremes. We are moderate in our bets and sober in 
our calculations. We are not such fools as to let such 
things run away with us. Before we become such 
slaves we will desist altogether. We play for money, 
it is true ; but the pastime is what we principally desire. 
A little recreation." But how do you know you 
will remain within the bounds of moderation ? What 
guarantee have you got that you will never reach the 
extremes ? What security, what protection have you, 
that you will not be as desperate as others ? You have 
no guarantee except that which experience teaches of 
the gambler, and that is the guarantee of ruin ! You 
have no security, no protection, except that which gam- 
blers find in remorse, despair and the prison cell ! Now, 
some of you think it is a very trying ordeal to spend a 
half hour in church on Sunday mornings ; but what 



296 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

do you do the rest of the day ? Where are you ? In 
what company are you wasting so much precious time ? 
•' What are we doing? Why, we are making money and 
in the meantime having recreation. " Making money ? 
If you are, some other one is losing. And is this the 
way you purpose to make money ? Do you iijtend to 
plunder others that you may be able to say you are 
making money ? Will you take the bread from the 
mouth of the hungry child ? Will you take the shoes 
from its feet ? Will you be a demon infesting homes 
with tears and wretchedness and despair ? You will 
never go so far ? Well, if you have such boasted con- 
fidence in your self-control ; if your claims are not 
rashly overestimated, — why do you not now restrain 
yourselves ? Why do you now play as long as there is 
one cent to win or lose ? Why do you now squander 
your valuable time, neglect your duties, and desecrate 
the Sunday in some secret resort where you can gamble? 
Such conduct is not sober. No sober-minded man will 
engage in such disastrous, damnable pursuits ! No 
sober-minded man will ruin another or himself ! No 
sober-minded man will bring infamy upon himself or 
destruction upon others ! 

There are in this parish some young men who gam- 
ble, and a few old men, too, Solomon in all his wisdom 
was not arrayed as those old men are. You cannot 
teach them anything. Their capacity for knowledge 
is overstocked. They are silly in their language, fool- 
ish in their behavior, and brainless in the management 
of their own affairs ! Well, if you cannot teach them 
anything, is it not wise to learn from their failures ? 
What have they except poverty ? Though they may 
earn good wages, they have not a dollar. Though they 
may be Solons in sagacity, their homes are destitute 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 297 

and their families impoverished. The wife is a picture 
of blighted hope and wretched want. The children 
wild, untrained, and with no knowledge of religion or 
God. Do the young men of this parish, who indulge 
in games of chance, desire a future so dismal and so 
deplorable as this ? Will they imitate the old gambler 
and become an abject, dissipated, ruined object of 
pity and reproach ; or will they be weaned from such 
debasement by the abhorrent spectacle of a rational 
being so defiled, so degraded, so ruined ? Young men, 
if you are sober, you will learn much useful knowledge 
from the human wrecks strewn around you. You will 
watch, and in your vigilance avoid those things which 
destroyed and are destroying others. You will dis- 
cover considerable wisdom in these words of the poet : 
" Prudent, cautious self-control is wisdom's root. " — (Burns.) 
Young men should not sow the seed of vice in their 
hearts, because as you sow you will reap. If in youth 
you sow bad seed, you cannot expect to reap a harvest 
of good fruit. Observe the husbandman, how care- 
fully he sows and plants. If there is any bad seed, the 
seed of weeds among the grain he is to sow, see how 
wisely he winnows his seed so as to separate the good 
seed from the bad. Should you not be as careful as the 
farmer? Should you not be more solicitous about the 
seed you sow in your hearts? Were the husbandman 
less judicious, were he to sow bad seed, his loss would be 
only temporary. In another year he could retrieve the 
loss sustained by his carelessness ; but you cannot so 
easily annul the bad effects of a pernicious habit, nor can 
you banish the habit at will. It is less difficult to pre- 
vent It, than when it Is formed, to eradicate it. And 
just as surely as you foster the habit, just so surely 
you will reap the ruin which others have harvested frQni 



298 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

the same habit. When a farmer plants corn, corn will 
grow. When he sows wheat, wheat comes forth from 
the field. But he would certainly be astonished were 
he to sow wheat, and corn spring forth instead of 
wheat. He would be astonished, I say, and rightly, too, 
for such a phenomenon would be contrary to nature. 
It is thus also with you. If you sow a destructive habit, 
you need expect nothing but devastation — devastation 
of hope, devastation of family happiness, devastation ot 
peace, devastation of everything which promotes tran- 
quillity or secures protection. I remember meeting a 
man who was about forty years of age. He was a 
Catholic, but had never made his first Communion. 
He had been only once or twice to confession, and that 
was when he was a boy nine years of age. He declared 
he was not a bad man, though there was scarcely a crime, 
except murder, he did not commit. From his boyhood 
he had led a gambler's life, and had participated in 
everything in which a gambler engages. I asked him 
why he did not tear himself loose from the habit and 
go to confession. His answer was: "I could not. 
Time and again I thought of confession, but feared I 
could not keep the resolution to refrain from gambling, 
and did not wish to heap sin upon sin. Even recollec- 
tions of early boyhood often made me wretched. I 
would think of my mother and father, who died when I 
was a boy^ and wondered whether they knew of the life 
I was leading. The thought would make me sad, and 
I would strive to banish it from my mind. Unfortunately 
mine has been a miserable career." He spoke of 
his struggles. How he often wished he had not thus 
wasted his life. How he desired to abandon his chums, 
but could not. Life was for him a failure. And now, 
let me ask the young men of this parish, do you want 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 299 

to be victims of the same remorse ? Do you want in 
your old age to have your hearts rent with the same 
lamentation? Do you desire, as you approach the grave, 
to look back sorrowfully on the past, and see nothing 
but sin, madness, and despair ? You do not ? Then 
break away from the grasp of this vicious, devastating 
habit. If you do not before it becomes your master, 
you will be haunted in old age with memories dismal, 
terrible, and appalling. 

Even innocent games should not induce you to 
waste your time or make you slaves. I knew a man, 
a merchant tailor, who became so infatuated with 
croquet that he completely neglected his business and 
destroyed his trade. During one season he was never 
to be found in his store. As Franklin would say, he 
did not keep his shop, and his shop soon failed to keep 
him. I knew another man, a shoe dealer. Baseball 
was his infatuation. He had to see every game. Often 
three or four in a week. The consequence was that a 
sheriff took possession of his store. I give these ex- 
amples just to showyouhow easy it is to become a slave. 
And if innocent games can produce such havoc, what 
must be the passion and the excitement when money is 
wagered — when the last dollar is staked ! 

Of course you know there is no sin in playing a 
game of cards for pastime at home or even elsewhere ; 
still, I am not m.uch in favor of it, because in this 
manner young people become acquainted with a dan- 
gerous game. It is only one step from pastime to bet- 
ting. Then they may often see their parents bet, and 
thus gambling is introduced and taught to the young. 
A boy of ten years of age is an expert. He can tell 
you the name of every card in the deck, but ask him a 
few questiqns in Catechism and he is ci dur^ce. He 



300 THIBD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

may not even be able to say his prayers. Would it not 
be better to encourage him to read ? Develop in him 
a taste for good books, and he is quite well protected. 
He will love to read, and his reading will bring him 
useful information. He will not then be found gam- 
bling, drinking, or quarreling. He will be a sober, 
sober-minded, intelligent, well-informed young man. 

Beware, then, of gambling of every sort ! Beware 
of cards, of dice, of horse-racing, of every game for 
money or for *' drinks ! '* The end of all these is ruin. 
The hope of winning is a mirage alluring you on and on 
and on, until your health is destroyed by feverish 
excitement and loss ; until your soul is devastated by 
drink and other crimes. You bet ; but your stake is not 
only your purse ; your stake is the health of your body ; 
your stake is honesty, sobriety, honor, and peace — 
peace of your family — yea, your stake is your immortal 
soul ! And if you continue a gambler to the end of 
life, your eternal peace is played and lost in the game. 
Your life on earth is miserable, your family wronged, 
others plundered, and yourself disgraced. The devils 
of gambling are drunkenness, lust, quarrelling, murder, 
and a prison ! Are you prepared to enter upon a 
course which abounds in horrors and ends in dam- 
nation ? Are you prepared to abandon the asylum of 
tranquillity ; to depart from the gentle, peaceful moor- 
ings of your religion ; to exile yourself from the en- 
nobling pursuits of a Christian life ? God forbid ! 
God forbid that you would be so insane, so mad as to 
barter peace for wretchedness ! There is more joy in 
one Hail Mary than in all the success which ever 
attended gambling. Be sober, therefore, and watch. 
Have a constant vigilance over yourself. Have definite 
maxims of conduct, based upon your religion, and never 



THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 801 

depart from them. Be sober-minded in all your under- 
takings. Ask God to keep you sober— sober in body, 
sober in mind, sober in the practice of your religion, 
sober in your service to your God. Then a prison 
cell will not afford you a dying couch ; demons will 
not be the companions of your dying moments, and 
the terrors of hell will not overwhelm your departing 
spirit! But the angel of peace, the sacraments of the 
Church, and the benediction of heaven will be a passport 
to the eternal realms of joy ! 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 



But I say to you, that whosoever is angry with his brother, 
shall be in danger of the ji^dgment. (Math, v . — 2 2 . ) 

On Anger. 

My Dear Brethren : You should discriminate between 
lawful anger and that which is unlawful. It is some- 
times good to be angry. The passion of anger is im- 
planted in man's nature for a good purpose. Like all 
the other passions, it can be abused and consequently 
become sinful. Anger ofttimes makes us brave against 
sin and crime. You may justly be exasperated at the 
scandal given by some Catholics who do not obey the 
voice of the Church. You may be provoked to anger by 
the insulting invectives so often heaped upon your 
religion by those who are ignorant of the sacred subject 
they so flippantly malign. In all these cases you 
correspond to the injunction of the Psalmist: '' Be ye 
angry and sin not.'' (Ps. iv. — 5.) Your Divine Lord was 
also angry when He drove the buyers and sellers out of 
the temple ; but who would accuse Him of sin ? St. Paul, 
moreover, was angry at Elymas, and St. Peter at Sap- 
phira. 

A parent is righteously incensed at his son who 
will not go to Mass on Sunday. The parent's 
indignation is aroused by the irreligious conduct of his 
son. He upbraids him for the sinful course he is pur- 
suing, admonishes him to go to confession, scolds him 

:U)2 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 303 

for his un-Christian behavior ; and in all this he is doing 
the duty of a faithful father. The wife is irritated be- 
cause her husband has betaken himself to intemperate 
drinking. He is neglecting his business, ruining his 
reputation, refraining from church, setting a deplora- 
able example to his young family. She is angry on 
this account with him. She scolds, threatens, chides, 
all for the worthy purpose of weaning him from his per- 
nicious habits. She does her part and sins not thereby. 
If " she nurses her wrath to keep it warm " (Burns), 
she is quite uncensurable. The daughter promenades 
the streets to a late hour in the night. She is enamored 
with disreputable company, dotes upon obnoxious 
books, and does about what she pleases. The mother 
advises, but her counsel is scorned. The mother is be- 
hind the age. She is old and querulous. Yes, time and 
provocation have made her so ; but she is still a mother ; 
and, if she become angry at her unreasonable and 
wayward daughter, she does what an)' mother may do 
under such irritation. A good sound scolding often 
produces excellent fruit. 

Now, you must not conclude that all anger is 
innocent. Anger, if unrestrained, is terrible and de- 
structive in its effects. Rash, inconsiderate anger, all 
should avoid ; for it is usually not to correct in a Chris- 
tian manner, but to revenge with foul,purpose. '' Anger, ^^ 
says Job (v. — 2), killcth the foolish and envy slayeth the 
little o?ie. " The universal history of this passion, un- 
mitigated by reason and religion, is a record written by 
the gory hand of destruction. Nations as well as indi- 
viduals have been prostrated by the usurping tyranny of 
this passion. It has been the fermenter of wars which 
have cursed the earth, while it transmitted its avenging 
hatred to succeeding generations. How often it has 



304 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

blighted the happy prospects of many a family. Brother 
has killed brother. The wife, the husband ; and the 
husband, the wife. Nations have been pillaged 
and families destroyed by this infuriated monster.. It 
dethrones reason, terrifies the noble aspirations, and 
annihilates affection. Under its sway love smiles with 
the weapon of death, deliberation becomes madness, 
and a rational being becomes an enraged brute. " Is 
there anything more like madness," says Cicero, " than 
anger. The color, the voice, the glare of the eye, impo- 
tence of words and deeds, — what have they to do with 
sanity? Anger brought Ajax to madness and death/' 

You now understand why our Divine Saviour laid such 
stress upon the excesses of the passion of anger. He 
came to teach a new doctrine — one of peace to all 
men . ''By tins shall all men know that you are My disci- 
ples^ if you love one a?iother.'' (St. John xiii. — 35.) Since 
anger is the antagonist of peace and love, He wished to 
teach us its horrible repulsiveness and direful effects, so 
that it maybe always controlled by reason, and that the 
angel of peace may always dwell among His people. 
He points out to us the degrees of anger. First it burns 
in the breast, then it finds vent in such offensive expres- 
sions as raca, and finally it bursts forth in a torrent of 
abuse which is designated by the expression, " Thou 
fool." By this last are meant all those vocal manifesta- 
tions of anger, such as insults, revilings, and curses 
which break forth from a furious soul, and are in their 
nature grievous sins. To call a person a fool in a 
jocose way is not a mortal sin ; and if not intended to 
give an offense at all, it partakes not of the malice of 
even the slighest venial sin. 

" Le' not the sun go down upon your anger*' (Ephes. iv. 
— 26), says the Inspired Writer. This solemn injunction 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 305 

you shouLi all observe. If from nature or habit you 
are prone to anger, if you are like powder which ignites 
at the first spark, be ever on your guard. Control your- 
selves. Shackle thi5 passion as you would your most 
deadly enemy. Never allow your blood to be inflamed 
by the frenzy of a misdirected heart, any more than you 
would follow the advice of an inveterate foe. Do not 
catch fire at the first moment ; and if perchance you do, 
extinguish the flame before it consumes you. It may 
destroy you before it does your antagonist. But should 
you subdue your adversar}^ the blow may cause you 
more affliction than it did him. The victim of your 
anger may perish at your hand ; but in prison you would 
deplore your rashness, when your sorrow could not 
mitigate your crime In the eyes of the civil law. How 
much misery has not this passion inflicted upon the 
human race ! How like madness it makes us ! It has 
been the curse of many a home ! The destroyer of 
friendship, the slayer of friends, the generator of end- 
less feuds ! Therefore, " Let not the su7i go down upon 
your anger.'" 

You have unquestionably noted how Jesus, your Sav- 
iour, enjoins upon you the obligation of becoming rec- 
onciled with those with whom you have had any dis- 
sension. ^^If, therefore, thou bri?igest thy gift to the altar'* 
declares your Saviour, " and there rememberest that thy 
brother hath au^ht against thee , leave thy gift before the altar 
and go thy zvay ; first be reco?iciled to thy brother^ a?id then 
come and off er thy gift r (Math. v. — 23, 24.) Now, let 
me inquire, what purpose had your Divine Lord in 
issuing this command ? Do you not think He had 
some reason for this ? Does He not know the awful 
consequences to which anger leads ? Most assuredly; 
and the fact that He has thus forbidden you to offer 



306 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

your gift before reconciliation, must impress you with 
the importance of His demand. Do not flatter your- 
selves that you can harbor hatred for your brother and 
that still your gift will be pleasing to God. He tells 
you He does not want your offering ; you cannot be in 
enmity with one of His creatures. and yet expect to 
find in Him a condoner of your rancor. Moreover, this 
command is beneficial to you, for it insists on you 
curbing your resentment. It bids you weigh well the 
nature of anger, its terrible results, its offensiveness to 
Almighty God. You may imagine you are grievously 
wronged, that your adversary has given you cause for 
just anger, that he has violated the most sacred pledges, 
abused your confidence, and robbed you of your good 
name. If this is the case, there are means of redress ; 
and the best is to leave the adjustment of the offence 
and the punishment thereof with the unerring Judge 
of heaven and earth. '^Revenge is mine ; I will repay, 
saith the Lord.' (Rom. xii. — 9.) By thus appealing to 
Infinite Justice you submit your case to an impartial 
judge. You will dissipate all feeling of rancor from 
your soul, and peace will come to your troubled brain. 
On the other hand, should you seek revenge by unlaw- 
ful means, you are only depriving yourself of the weap- 
ons of defence. You are retaliating in a vicious manner, 
and lowering yourself to the level of your foe. It is 
better to bear some contumely, than to rob yourself of 
tranquillity of soul and body. Protect yourself from 
the attacks of your enemy as best you can, and rest sat- 
isfied in the accomplishment of this. People will soon 
learn the ignoble traits of your enemy's character, and 
he shall suffer manifold for his injustice. Besides, 
were you to permit your angry passions to prevail, they 
would soon become vour master, and a more venemous 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 307 

foe than any other you could have. Anger would tor- 
ture you in soul and body. Peace and rest would be 
strangers to you. Your pillow would be restless and 
your couch thorny. Nervousness, fretfulness, ill-health 
would be a few in the train of consequent evils. You 
would simply devour yourself, and be more destructive 
to yourself than all your enemies could be. Moreover, 
what could you gain in the end ? Your advantage, if 
any, could not compensate you for the loss of Christian 
patience ; could not restore the unanimity of your moral 
and intellectual powers ; could not replace you upon 
that plane of universal respect whence your angry pas- 
sions dragged you down. It is needless to comment 
further upon the salutary words of the Gospel. You 
fully understand that what God speaks to you is worthy 
of your earnest consideration ; His words are the words 
of wisdom ; His knowledge, the knowledge of the uni- 
verse. He knows what you should do, and what you 
should avoid, to be happy. 

In this meditation you may wonder why such a pas- 
sion was implanted in the human breast. For good, let 
me answer ; for good and nothing else. What a benefit 
it is to man. What energy it imparts ! What nobleness 
of purpose ; what abhorrence for the base, sordid, cruel 
and despotic ! "But I have too much of it," some one 
replies ; " I am ill-tempered, and like the lightning flash 
which destroys.^' Yes ; but the lightning, when once 
controlled, becomes a most useful servant, annihilating 
in its fury, but obedient in its subjection. Train the 
passion of anger, subject it to the reason; and from an 
injurious force when furious, it is converted into a ser- 
vant both brilliant and advantageous. It is this that 
gives vividness to the orator's tongue, brilliancy to his 
thoughts, and fervor to his emotions. Indignation 



308 



FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 



bursts .ortli at the sight of wrong or the cry of oppres- 
sion. The nobleness of great deeds is extolled, the vile 
denounced, virtue crowned, vice disrobed of her affecta- 
tion and paraded in her repulsive garb of dissipation, 
and all this b\' the energetic power of well-trained 
anger. Deprive the orator of this auxilliary, and you 
leave him weak indeed. Banish it from the pamter's or 
the sculptor's soul, and you paralyze his arm. Despoil 
the human heartof this potent and efficient passion, 
and you cripple the power and enslave the energies of 
the human race. 

It is unnecessary to call your attention to the various 
other useful manifestations of anger in the daily life of 
everyone ; nor is more argument needed to convince 
you that the passion of anger is not in itself a curse, 
but a blessing. Like all other gifts, it can be abused ; 
then it becomes horrible and destructive. Control, 
therefore, your anger. Make it submissive to the 
reason. Harness it for the work for which it was given. 
Teach it that you are the master. You can surely do 
this ; for you are not more irritable than Socrates, moie 
violent than Sampson, more cruel than August Caesar,-— 
and these learned to control themselves. 

The most essential aid which you can employ in mas- 
tering your passions is the grace of God. Ask Him to 
assist you. When this tumultous passion strives to break 
forth as a furious lion from his cage, stop and say a 
prayer, invoking the assistance of the Blessed Virgin and 
her Divine Son. Often entreat Almighty God to direct 
you in the virtuous application of all your powers of body 
and mind. You will then be a useful and profitable ser- 
vant in His vineyard ; and when you approach the altar 
to offer your gifts, you will not be necessitated to return 
and become reconciled with any one ; for you will be at 
peace with all — yourself, your neighbor, and your God. 



NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 



For the days shall come tipoii thee .• and thy ejiemies shall 
cast a trench about thee, and compass thee arotmd, and 
straiten thee on every side, and beat thee flat to the grou?id. 
(St. Luke xix.— 43, 44.) 

Man a Temple of the Holy Ghost. 

My Dear Brethren : This passage of the Sacred 
Scriptures, which I have just read for you, contains the 
prediction of our Divine Lord respecting the destruction 
of Jerusalem. That ancient city was to be destroyed, 
and Jesus, the Saviour of mankind, weeps over its fall. 
The magnificent temple, the pride and glory of the 
Jewish people, was to be demolished ; and Jesus grieves 
at the contemplation of its loss and the perversity of 
His once chosen people. This famous abode of wor- 
ship was erected to do honor and commemorate the liv- 
ing God. Countless numbers knelt and worshipped 
there. At its portals the beggar sat and craved for 
alms, indicating that charity was not dead among the 
Jewish people. The devout came from afar to offer 
there the incense of their souls in acknowledgment of 
God's providence and mercy. But now the days of 
true piety and devotion are passed, and the city and 
temple are doomed. 

About the year 70 of the Christian era, Vespasian, 
being declared emperor of the Roman world, left the 
conduct of the army and the siege of Jerusalem to his 
son Titus. The siege was carried on vigorously and 



olO NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

without intermission until the walls were battered 
down ; and Jerusalem, so sacred to the Jews, was re- 
duced to a mass of ruins. The temple became the prey 
of the devouring flames, and a vast multitude of the 
people perished. In the year 361 A. D., Julian under- 
took to disprove the prophesy of the Messiah, and 
invited the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild 
the temple. But God put a stop to their work. When 
all was ready for the new foundation, earthquake and 
fire came forth, terrifying the Jews and tearing the last 
stone of the old foundation from its resting-place for 
ages. In this manner was the prophesy of Jesus ver- 
ified : '' Afid they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a 
stofieT 

It is not, however, to the destruction of Jerusalem and 
its ghastly consequences, I wish especially to invite 
your attention ; but desire to enlist your thoughts for 
the purpose of considering the destruction of a grander 
temple — man, the temple of the Holy Ghost. The gor- 
geous Jewish temple, all the sublime cathedrals of the 
world, all the edifices erected by man's skill and 
decorated by his genius, are but trifles when compared 
to man. Those vast structures, with their graceful, 
massive arches, with their lofty spires sublimely tipped 
by the cross and mingling with the clouds, are the 
reflections of man's genius and the product of his 
labor ; but man is a creation of God's genius and a 
symbol of His love. He is the architect of the hu- 
man temple, and what was the design ? God Himself ! 
'^ Let us fnake 7na?i to our image a?td likeness,^'' are His 
w^ords ; and this creation, man, is only a little lower 
than the angels. Still, it must be admitted that this 
human temple, the abode of the Holy Spirit, is often 
beaten flat to the ground. Sin is the enemy, and sin 



NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 311 

often demolishes this wonderful product ot God's power. 
Unsullied, virtuous man is a temple the most sacred 
and most admirable. He is a living temple of the 
Holy Spirit, as St. Paul declares thus : '' Know yoti not 
that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God 
dwells in yoTi.''^ (i Ep. Cor. iii. — 16. ) The magnifi- 
cent works of man's architectural genius have been 
admired, praised, and rewarded ; but what are they in 
comparison with this great piece of work — man ? The 
material part of man is beyond comprehension ; but 
this material part, animated by the soul, and together 
with the soul, may well be the marvel of angels. Al- 
mighty God has created him to His image and likeness, 
and made him a temple in which Himself can reside. 
Man in his greatness, in his charity, in his defence of 
justice, in his protection of the weak, in all his great 
Christian virtue, reminds us of Shakespeare's memorable 
tribute to man. The bard of Avon says \ "What a 
piece of work is man ! How noble in reason ; how in- 
finite in faculties ; in form and movement, how expres- 
sive and admirable ! In action, how like an angel ; in 
apprehension, how like a god !" But in his treachery, 
in his tyranny, in his dishonesty — in a word, in his sin, 
he recalls to our mind the famous lines of Lord Byron : 

" O man ! thou feeble tenant ot an hour ! 
Debased by slavery or corrupt by power ; 
Who knows thee well, must quit thee with disgust, 
Degraded mass of animated dust ! 
Thy love is lust, thy friendship all a cheat. 
Thy smile hypocrisy, thy words deceit ! '■ 

Yes, man adorned by ennobling virtues is a temple of 
the Holy Ghost ; but in his sin and debasement he is 
a temple of the infernal spirits. 

Now, we may inquire, what precaution must we take 



312 NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

in order that we may always remain temples of God ? 
We might learn much in this respect from the endur- 
ance and destruction of the Jewish temple at Jerusa- 
lem. This temple had endured for centuries, but you 
remember that, before the Romans laid seige to Jerus- 
alem, the Jews were split into factions ; their conten- 
tions consumed their strength and stability, and they 
reached the summit of their transgressions when they 
crucified the Saviour of the human race. They thus 
abused heaven and rendered themselves assailable as 
well as easily conquered. No wonder Jesus wept over 
that ill-fated city. In a similar manner, before man's 
degradation, he invites the enemy by the disorders 
prevailing in his own soul and body. He disarms the 
garrison which kept guard upon his virtues ; he un- 
shackled his passions ; tumult and riot expelled God's 
graces, and he becomes a victim of his own madness 
and the slave of his external foe. He has suffered 
from internal and external attacks. The enemy 
encompasses him, attacks him from all sides, and beats 
him flat to the ground. He becomes a victim, a slave ! 
This marvellous temple of God, the abode of the 
human soul, created by the Omniscient Architect, 
redeemed by the Cross, destined for endless happiness, 
is subjugated, is made a slave ! Who can estimate the 
loss ? What tongue can enumerate the graces abused, 
the gifts of intellect and heart squandered ? A body 
ruined, a soul impoverished ! 

" What constitutes man's external enemy ? " you ask. 
It is needless to say that man's most destructive exter- 
nal foe is bad company. Staying out late at night, 
profanity, obscenity, strong potations, — these effect the 
downfall of the noblest souls. How insinuating and 
seductive these begin ! Gradually they gain power and 



NINTH SUNDAY AFTEB PENTECOST. 313 

make advancement, until the citadel of the strongest 
will is captured. It may be in the beginning only a 
drink or two, a clever conversation, a jocose gathering ; 
still they lead to ruin, if the company is vicious. Many 
a one, on account of his labor, mingles in such com- 
pany. They will say : " Come and have a drink." The 
reply is : " I never drink." " Ah! have a drink ; be one 
of us." Overcome by their importunities, and desir- 
ing to be sociable, he drinks. *' Have another." He 
remonstrates. " Yes, have another. It is not often 
you are with us. We like a fellow of your stripe. A 
few glasses will not hurt you. I can drink a gallon and 
not feel any bad effects. It is only when a man makes 
a hog out of himself that his head becomes swollen and 
his stomach contorted." He drinks again. " Now, 
let us have a game of cards. It will while away the 
evening." But the other argues : " It is eleven o'clock ; 
I must start for home. This will never do for me. I 
have business to attend to in the morning." ''Never 
mind the business ; a busy person always finds more to 
do than he is able to manage. There is nothing gained 
by this everlasting push and rush. Why, often we don't 
go home until two in the morning. We are hale and 
hearty and defy trouble. Be like us. Take the world 
easy. You will get along just as well, or better. Come, 
let us have a game." Reluctantly he consents. There 
is a hypnotism about them he cannot resist. He 
would like to leave them ; and still he finds them a 
jolly, good crowd. They want to play for money. He 
objects. " But a game has no attractions unless there 
is something at stake." He submits. They play and 
drink. Between two and three in the morning he re- 
turns home. He is not yet a drunkard or a gambler ; but 
the outworks are battered down. The foe has made a 



314 NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

notable advance. A few mOre such assaults, and the 
enemy will have triumphed. How many a young man, 
and old man, too, is thus conquered ; the faculties of 
his soul plundered ; the home of the loftiest thoughts 
demolished ; character, reputation, talent, and genius 
pillaged ! The temple of the Holy Ghost becomes the 
shrine of lewdness, gluttony, and despair ! He is, in- 
deed, straitened on all sides and beaten by the foe- 
bad company. In his strength of will and manhood 
he confided. He laid aside the armor of religion, that 
shield which would have protected him from enemies 
within and without. Well may our Lord weep over 
the heaven-designed temple as He once wept over 
Jerusalem ! 

No wonder that Protestants look with suspicion upon 
us. They conclude, or wish to conclude, that all Cath- 
olics are like a few. They note the conduct of a few, 
and consequently hesitate to bestow upon Catholics 
places of trust or profit. You reply that this is an un- 
fair criterion ; and that, if applied to Protestants, few of 
them would be holding any office of xiistinction, trust, or 
emolument. Your answer may bear with it the weight of 
truth ; still you must not forget the prejudice cher- 
ished against us and the odium which a few of us exhale. 
Protestants are often sceptical with us, and sometimes 
act with unfairness toward us. Yet, to what considera- 
tion do these thoughts lead us ? Do not the condi- 
tions which surround us urge us to be honorable in every 
affair ; to make superhuman efforts to banisb by the 
righteousness of our lives every vestige of suspicion 
and prejudice from the minds of our Protestant 
friends ? Moreover, does not Christ teach us to lead 
holy lives, that by our sanctity we may edify others, 
save our own souls, and give glory to God ? But it can- 



NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 315 

not be denied that some Catholics fail in these important 
duties, bringing thereby disgrace upon themselves, 
odium upon their church, and producing a diminution 
of the reverence and love due to our Eternal Father. 

Now. what should every Catholic do that he may 
always remain a temple of the Holy Spirit ? What 
should he do that he may secure his own salvation and 
instruct non-Catholics by his example ? To these 
questions I answer : he should fortify his soul with good 
works, patience, industry, perseverance, and kindness. 
Upon the battlements of his soul he should place his 
guardian angel with a flaming sword, to repel all 
foreign foes ; and with the assistance of the sacraments 
he should suppress all riotous disorders from within. 
His soul being thus garrisoned by heaven, he is a pure 
temple in which God loves to dwell ; and a temple 
grander, more precious and enduring than the temple 
of Jerusalem. Peace reigns there, for he does not by 
his own distempers reduce his power nor invite the 
enemy. 

But to return once more to the Gospel of the day ; let 
me call your attention to another phase of our instruc- 
tion. You have observed that when Jesus went to the 
temple, He found rascals bartering within its sacred 
precincts. He expelled them ; but what were His 
words ? You have just heard them. Thus He speaks : 
'^This is a house of prayer ^ but you have made it a den of 
thieves.'' My dear brethren, could not our Divine 
Saviour often reproach us in a similar manner. Could 
He not say to many a Catholic : " I have created you 
a temple of the Holy Spirit ; I have embellished your 
soul with the choicest gifts ; I have designed you a 
temple of prayer, whence the soul should raise its lof- 
tiest aspirations tg heaven ; but you have made it a den 



316 NINTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

of thieves. You have banished these gifts — these orna- 
ments of the soul. You have perverted the magnificent 
faculties of your mind, given you for the honorable 
purposes of life, and by the proper use of which you 
could attain to endless happiness. You have impover- 
ished your soul, you have scorned my laws, you have 
spurned my goodness — your soul is a den of evil 
spirits." Is not such a rebuke often deserved by some 
so-called Catholics ? And would it not be well for 
these if our Divine Lord would enter once more into 
their souls as He did into the temple of Jerusalem, and 
drive out those malicious spirits who have polluted the 
temple of the Holy Ghost — the human body and soul ? 
Would it not be most beneficial for such persons were 
He to enter their souls by means of the Sacrament of 
Penance, thereby replenishing their souls with His 
grace and expelling the corruption of a wicked life ? 
He will not go unless he be asked. But is it not most 
commendable in every Catholic, good and bad, to 
request his Divine Redeemer to come to him and take 
up His abode with him ? It is in this manner that 
wayward Catholics will become good Christians, and 
good Christians better Catholics. By compliance 
with the doctrines of our Church, our souls will ever 
be resplendent with God's graces, our conduct unim- 
peachable, our fidelity to God unfaltering, and our- 
selves temples of the Holy Ghost. 



ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER 
PENTECOST. 



A7id taking kim aside from the multitude, He put His 
fingers into Ids ears ; and spitting, He touched his tongue. 
(St Mark vii. — 33.) 

Catholic Education. 

My Dear Brethren : To-day the Sacred Scriptures 
recall to your minds this miracle of your Redeemer. 
You are told again how Jesus put His sacred fingers 
into the ears of the deaf-mute, and touched his tongue. 
Continuing, the Bible tells you how by His inherent 
power He commanded those diseased members to 
assume the functions for which they were created, and 
they obeyed His mandate. A spell of wonder seized 
the multitude. They were astonished at the apparent 
simplicity of the cure and its unquestionable effective- 
ness. When they realized what had taken place, when 
they heard the dumb speak and perceived that he 
could hear, they broke forth in acclamations of praise 
and thanksgiving. It was an extraordinary feat of 
power, and a convincing proof to the multitude that 
Jesus was more than human. 

This miracle, moreover, suggests to our minds that 
there is a spiritual deafness and a spiritual dumbness 
as well as a physical deafness and a physical dumbness. 
Jesus healed the impediments from which the deaf- 
mute mentioned in to-day's Gospel suffered ; and He 

8ir 



*)18 ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

died upon the cross in order to cure the spiritual deaf- 
ness and dumbness of the soul. In the former case He 
succeeds perfectly ; in the latter, man's perverse will 
often intervenes and prevents the efficacy of the merits 
of Christ's suffering and death. To dissipate the 
clouds of ignorance and sin which obscured the true 
vision of the soul, and to direct that soul to its highest 
and noblest destiny, Jesus lived on earth, taught, and 
died. Being a divine person, He understood the diffi- 
culty of the task and the tenacity of the evil He 
desired to banish. He knew His temporal life was 
too short to accomplish this, and that time would 
obliterate from the minds of men the memory of His 
death, unless He took the necessary means to perpet- 
uate a knowledge of His person and the beneficence of 
His doctrine. To dispel, therefore, the fog of ignor- 
ance and sin, and to impart spiritual light to the soul, 
He established His Church, which continues to teach 
and execute His doctrines. Among the many means 
which the Catholic Church has taken to illumine and 
direct the minds of men, is Christian education. By 
her system of training she heals, as far as she can, the 
spiritual and intellectual deafness and dumbness of the 
soul. In every age since she sat at the feet of Jesus in 
Jerusalem, she has diligently and constantly labored 
to promote and diffuse among all nations Catholic 
education. She erected her schools and encouraged 
the acquisition of knowledge. She patiently taught 
the barbarian invader, whose purpose it was to destroy 
her. After generations of persistent teaching she 
made him a docile member of societ3^ It was she 
who taught Europe and developed true civilization. 
To-day in our countr}-, through the generosity of her 
children, she expends millions of dollars in the educa- 



ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 319 

tion of her people, while the members of her Church 
are compelled to contribute to the support of schools 
which are foreign to her purpose. These have agreed 
to a common platform of educational training in which 
God is ignored ; but she desires to educate the child 
according to the best and only principles which are in 
conformity with the nature of the child and the safety 
of the Republic. In her schools the child is trained 
physically, intellectually, morally, and religiously. 
Any education which is deficient in any of these 
branches of culture is defective. Any true educator will 
admit this. Mr. Wickersham, who was some years ago 
superintendent of the public schools of this state, in 
one of his works on education, declares this same 
truth, and maintains that a child should be educated 
physically, intellectually, morally, and religiously. In 
the Catholic system God is first, secular knowledge 
afterwards. She points to God as the first and great- 
est ambition of the soul ; and inculcates principles 
treating of man's relations to God, himself, and his 
neighbor. Any education which neglects to impress 
upon the mind of the child its responsibility to society 
and to God, is not only a failure, but is destructive to the 
perpetuity of the nation. To see the pernicious effects 
of public school training ' is not difficult. These 
effects are discernible in the dishonesty of bank of- 
ficials, in politics,' in the administration of justice, in 
almost every field of enterprise. In no age has 
the tyrannical principle that might is right, been so 
generally adopted as at the beginning of this century. 
Individuals and nations are intoxicated with this des- 
potic maxim. This is largely due to the educational 
training imparted in these schools. In the public 
schools responsibility to God is neglected, while in the 



320 ELEATENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

higher institutions of learning there is a strong ten- 
dency to agnosticism and infidelity. It is not long ago 
since a president of one of our leading institutions of 
knowledge wrote a book entitled "Warfare Between 
Science and Religion " ; and religion got the worst of it. 
What can be the influence of such a man of promi- 
nence upon the students of a university ? Do you not 
agree with me that the students would ere long be 
tainted by the same proclivities ? In our day God is 
forgotten and the results are visible. If you want an 
honest people you must have a people who fear and 
love Him to Whom all owe obedience. 

But some will remark : " Oh, that is all very well 
from a Catholic point of view. The Catholic Church 
is not the educator you pretend. She sets a premium on 
ignorance. It is her purpose to parade her love for the 
sciences and the arts, while she keeps her people in the 
meshes of intellectual darkness. She boasts of her 
enthusiasm in education, but she shackles her adherents 
wdth the fetters of stupidity. She thrives best in ig- 
norance, and ignorance maintains her strength. Look 
at the Philippine Islands. See Luzon, the most ad- 
vanced of any of the islands of that archipelago ; it is 
ignorant and barbarous. Behold also Cuba and Porto 
Rico ! These are examples of the energy which the 
Catholic Church exerts in education. Ignorance, com- 
plete ignorance prevails ! We will civilize them. We 
will build up our public school system in those enslaved 
islands, and give to these peoples the glorious light of 
knowledge ! " 

Now, my Christian friends, I do not wish to use one 
harsh, unkind, or disrespectful word toward those who 
speak thus ; still, allow me to say, with all deference 
for the opinions of others, that they are meagerly 



ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. H21 

informed. They have not investigated the subject as 
closely as they should. They have heard some one 
proclaim such nonsensical falsehoods ; and concluded, 
without any investigation, that these falsehoods are as 
true as mathematical axioms. When prejudice and big- 
otry preach, it is prudent for the listeners to be skeptical. 
Those persons who are so loud in their condemnation 
of Catholic influence, do not appear to know that Luzon 
is remarkable for her advancement in the sciences ; 
that in Manila there were universities, hospitals, homes 
for the aged and weak, before Union Square in New 
York was laid out. Previous to the breaking out of the 
Spanish-American War, there were as many children 
attending the schools of Luzon, in proportion to the 
population, as in this State of Pennsylvania. And we 
think ourselves very far advanced in educational prog- 
ress. In fact, before the war there was a compulsory 
law requiring the children to attend school. General 
Reeve tells us : " The enrollment of students in the San 
Thomas and Dominican universities, and the attention 
paid to such branches of knowledge as law, medicine, 
liberal arts, and civil engineering, excited and surprised 
me. Five thousand students were enrolled at the Do- 
minican university." In Cuba, the first university was es- 
tablished more than fifty years before the Revolutionary 
war in this country. In Porto Rico even, where the chil- 
dren were few or scattered, means were taken to educate 
them. And if the Catholic Church did not accomplish 
all which some of her critics may demand, neither have 
the public schools in our country done all that might 
be expected. There is this difference — this vast differ- 
ence acknowledged by every impartial observer — that 
the training given by the Catholic Church has made the 
peoples of those islands honest, and that is more than 
can be said in praise of our public schools. 



'62'1 ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

But we will civilize them. Yes, we shall ; yes, b}' teach- 
ing them the art of stealing, as we did recently in Cuba, 
when a postal official seized upon four hundred thou- 
sand dollars of the post-office receipts. We shall teach 
them to lie with facility, as we did when we promised 
Porto Rico the same flag and the same constitution as 
the United States enjoys. We shall teach them skill in 
acquiring money, as we are now doing in Manila, by 
introducing on Sunday horse-racing, pugilism, and 
gambling and drunkenness. Before we began to en- 
lighten them with our civilization there were only a few 
saloons in Manila; now it is swarmed with them. Our 
chief ingredient of civilization imported to them is 
intoxicating beverages. We are great civilizers ! In 
plunder and divorce and dishonesty and drunkenness, 
we are adepts ! 

Some of my friends may, however, reply : ** While we 
admit your contentions, we consider you severe ; and, 
moreover, we hold that you are only describing a part 
of our influence. You say not one word about that 
stupendous revival of spiritual energy inaugurated and 
encouraged and fed by the Protestant Church, We 
have co-operated with Jesus in expelling the deafness 
and dumbness of the soul. We have unfettered the hu- 
man mind and have given light, freedom, and the Bible 
to downtrodden man. When your Church was afraid 
of the light, when she hid the Bible from the people, 
we diffused the illumining rays of Christianity and gave 
to the world, in the Bible, the sacred thoughts of 
Almighty God. Behold, we have placed the Bible in 
every land I We have placed it in the churches, in the 
schools, in the hotels, in passenger trains, — everywhere, 
in order that man may be enlightened and sanctified 
by the word of God ! Is this not civilizing ? Is this 



ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 323 

not the grandest scope of education ? Are we not the 
true educators of the nations ? Yea, we shall send and 
are sending to the benighted peoples of those islands 
the word of God— the Holy Bible." 

To all this my reply is that I question not the sin- 
cerity of your intention ; but fail to see the im- 
provement which might be expected from your efforts. 
You despatch the Bible to the inhabitants of those 
islands. Your generosity and charity might be more 
appreciated b}^ those who know you better. The 
Filipinos cannot well understand why you offer the 
Bible with one hand, and the contents of a Maxim gun 
with the other. They consider, poor, stupid people that 
they are, that the Bible teaches peace and good-will 
among men ; still you are burning their homes and 
slaughtering themselves simply because they love in- 
dependence . The fatal mistake which 3^ou have always 
made is inconsistency. You proclaim the Bible to be 
the Revealed Word of God ; yet in your educational 
plan and in your civilizing efforts, it is not your guide. 
There is in your exertions considerable jealously and 
dislike, bordering ofttimes upon hatred. You propose 
. to civilize these, many of whom are more civilized 
' than yourselves. In your pious intention you purpose 
to liberate those islanders from the thraldom of the 
Catholic Church ; but at the very same time you know 
very little of the Catholic Church and what she has done 
for these nations. If you are so zealous for the salva- 
tion of souls and so enthusiastic in the distribution of 
the Bible, why not begin at home. In every city 
and town there is work for you ; and, if you are de- 
termined to maintain your ground, I would advise you 
to look to your conquests, for you are rapidly losing 
your prestige. That you have accomplished some 



3^4 ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTEK PENTECOST. 

good, I shall not take upon myself to deny ; that you 
are willing to do more, I shall readily grant ; but that 
you are retreating in disorder from your former posi- 
tions, I think you cannot successfully controvert. 
That you have disseminated the Bible, is quite true ; 
still, what is the result ? You began by maintaining 
that " the Bible is the whole and entire rule of faith " ; 
and you have arrived at a crisis in which many of you 
and many of your famed leaders attack the inspira- 
tion and truthfulness of this sacred volume. In hotels 
it was abused, on board trains it was ridiculed, in the 
public schools it was tossed from desk to desk ; and all 
this disrespect culminated in loss of faith. In Germany, 
higher criticism sent forth its earliest shoots ; but 
much of its fruit is harvested in this country, to the 
detriment and degeneracy of Protestantism. 

As to the hiding of the Bible, let me refer you to 
Maitland's Essays on the Dark Ages. Although he 
was a Protestant, he had the candor and the courage 
and the honesty to do justice to the Catholic Church. 
He, moreover, declares that many writers who antag- 
onize the Catholic Church never saw the original text 
from which they pretend to quote. This scholarly 
gentleman possessed the patience to search for the 
gems of knowledge at the fountain-source of mediaeval 
history ; and in an age of venemous prejudice he had 
the fortitude to tell the truth. Catholics and Protestants 
should read his learned works on the Reformation and 
the Dark Ages. To charge the Church with concealing 
the Bible is now a stale argument among learned, truth- 
ful Protestants. It is good enough to preach to the 
ignorant who live in hamlets and country places, and 
who still retain some respect for the sacred volume, 
together with much dread of the horrible Catholics. 



ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 325 

But to the inquiring, sincere Protestant we would say : 
If you deplore the ignorance which you imagine has 
solidified Catholic intellect, why not dispel the dark- 
ness enveloping your own mental faculties by lighting 
the lamp of true^ honest, patient investigation ? Are 
you afraid you wall become more liberal ? Remember, 
liberal mindedness, in truth, is a reflection of a great 
soul. Do you hesitate lest you may be subdued by 
Catholic achievement in education ? Hesitancy in 
research, and fear of doing justice, produce an intellect- 
ual vapor which blinds and makes cowards. Are you 
reluctant to investigate lest you may come under the 
spell of Catholic influence ; and, like many another, 
return to the old Church ? Be mindful that investiga- 
tion and courage are among the boastful claims of the 
Protestant Church. 

Permit me now to direct your attention to one of the 
disputes which I had with professors while attending 
the State Normal School of Edinboro, Pa. It will 
elucidate the subject which we are considering, be- 
cause it will show how others see us. The author we 
w^ere studying for that class was Wickersham, on ed- 
ucation; and Prof. L. was our teacher. He was at times 
bitter and abusive ; but had from nature a kind, sym- 
pathetic heart. He said one day, that it was driving a 
team of stupid oxen when he was a boy, which made 
him so irascible ; but while this might have been a par- 
tial cause, I think his prejudice was due to his early 
environments. His heart was poisoned in boyhood 
by the religious atmosphere in which he lived ; but at 
times the current would flow from sources uncontami- 
nated, and it was then his great, kind soul stood forth 
in its true attitude. Let me intimate here that it is 
not my purpose to review the whole discussion, but to 



326 ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

call your attention to two points. Wickersham, speak- 
ing of the downfall of ancient Greece and Rome, says 
that the monks no longer teach the world, and that a 
teacher in the public schools should inculcate patriot- 
ism in the minds of the young, so that, if our country 
were threatened by internal revolution or from an 
external foe, there would be patriots in sufficient num- 
ber to maintain the dignity and unity of the nation 
unimpaired. Prof. L. not being a good historian, as 
our dispute demonstrated, imagined that the cause of 
the decay of those two ancient states was attributable 
to the monks. In a few words I showed him he was 
at sea ; that the prestige ot Greece was disappearing 
four centuries before Christ, and that Roman prowess 
began to vanish long before the dawn of the Christian 
era ; hence the monks had nothing to do with stimulat- 
ingthe feuds of ancient Greece and Rome. He was 
embarrassed, and knew not whether to -deny my proof 
or maintain his ignorance of the subject. But he final- 
ly added : " Students, you have not got to the back- 
bone of the monks ; the principle of the monks was to 
keep their pupils in ignorance, and the ignorance of 
the pupils was bliss to the monks.'' To this charge 
I replied : " You are not aware. Professor, that Albertus 
Magnus and St. Thomas Aquinas were both monks. 
Albertus was so celebrated for his erudition, that many 
marveled at the vast comprehension of his mind. In 
philosophy, theology, science, mathematics and every 
other known branch of knowledge in his time, he was 
master. Appleton's cyclopedia acknowledges this and, 
moreover, says that St. Thomas became as renowned 
for learning as his famous master, Albertus ; and even 
excelled his illustrious teacher. Now, if It was the 
principle of the monks to keep their pupils in ignor- 



ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTEK PENTECOST. 327 

ance, how did St. Thomas equal or excel his great 
master ? " The professor was silenced. Since he knew 
little or nothing of these two illustrious schoolmen, 
he was afraid to contradict me lest he may be only 
entangling himself in the net of his own ignorance. 
This is only a brief outline of our contention. It was 
conducted with much warmth, especially on ray part. 
I may say it was on my part excitement born of fear 
and indignation. I feared lest he would be too much 
for me, and that I could not cast back with force the 
insult he hurled at the Church. Strange as it may ap- 
pear, he was more my friend after the contest than he 
ever was before. On one occasion, when a student 
was criticizing the Catholic opposition to the Bible in 
the public schools, he said : ** We do not fully under- 
stand the Catholic position. The more I see of them, 
the better I like them." So I argue, that Protestants 
should investigate without bias Catholic education and 
Catholic doctrine. They may discover that it is the fog 
of prejudice which has settled upon their own intel- 
lects, which prevents them from seeing and conse- 
quently from acknowledging the merits of Catholic 
education. Let them light the torch of honest investi- 
gation. Then they will penetrate through the dark- 
ness of their own environments, and tlie light of truth 
will shine upon them. 

Having examined and compared the two systems of 
education and their effects upon society, they must ad- 
mit that an education without God is dangerous to the 
public welfare. Edmund Burke declared that belief in 
God is necessary to the preservation of the state. As 
a statesman, he saw as deep and as far into the wants 
of society as any other man of his age, or probably of 
any age. But when is man or woman to be impressed 



328 ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

with accountability to God, if not in childhood and 
youth ; and when is there a more opportune time than 
in the early period of life while attending school ? A 
school in which there is no prayer, a school in which 
there is no knowledge of God imparted, may sharpen 
the mental faculties ; still the keenness eievates to no 
noble conception of the state, nor to any exalted ideal 
of a citizen ; but to self-aggrandizement, plunder, con- 
spiracy, and ruin. 

Note now the influence of Catholic education upon 
the child, and hence its moulding power upon the man. 
When a Catholic child enters the class-room, it beholds 
the crucifix. The young mind is attracted by this em- 
blem of God's mercy, and inquires what it means. He 
is told that it is a representation of the death of Christ. 
He inquires who Christ is, and is told that He is the 
Saviour of the world ; that He died on the cross, that 
children may be good and love Him; that if they be 
good and always love Him, they will live forever with 
Him in heaven ; but if they are bad, they will be pun- 
ished in hell. In this manner the child is trained from 
day to day. As his young soul develops, he gathers 
more information concerning God and his own duties. 
In the morning, studies begin with prayer, and at noon 
they close with prayer. In the afternoon the same edify- 
ing, moulding, Christianizing influence is directing and 
forming the child. A part of the day is devoted to 
catechism, which treats especially of God, of himself 
and his fellow man. Everything suggests to his young 
mind something about his Creator and his own destiny. 
Tell me not that such a child will not make a more 
honest man, a more patriotic citizen, a more devout 
Christian, than the child that hears nothing of God, 
that is never taught to pray, that draws no elevating 



ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTEK PENTECOST. 329 

inspiration from religious objects ! No ; tell me not 
such falsehoods, for the voice of all nature cries out 
against such falsity ! Environments either destroy 
or nurture the vegetable, the shrub, or the tree ; and 
environments destroy or nurture the poet, the painter, 
the philosopher, or the theologian. Our surroundings 
have much to do with the, formation of our bodies and 
the development of our souls; or they enfeeble, contam- 
inate, and ruin. What arguments, then, can be too 
weighty and persuasive to convince parents and the 
benefactors of education, that true education consists 
in making the child a man — a man in honesty, in so- 
briety — a man in patriotism, in fidelity to God. If the 
ancient Athenians were subjected in youth to trials of 
great endurance, that they might be great warriors ; if 
in every age and land the soldier is trained to meet with 
courage the shock of battle ; if in every pursuit a man 
best trained does best what his occupation demands, 
why then should not a child trained in the beautiful 
and sublime principles of Christianity be faithful to 
trust, be honest in his dealing, be incorruptible in the 
legislature, impartial on the bench, in all the affairs 
of life an irreproachable man ? We will admit that 
every child which is trained in a Catholic school may 
not possess or acquire the distinguishing features of 
blameless reputation ; but neither is every soldier a 
hero. Allowance must be made for the temptations of 
after-life. Still, when you consider what sort of a 
soldier an untrained man would make, you have some 
conception of the cowardice, dishonesty, and unrelia- 
bility of a person who cares little whether there is a 
God or not. 

In conclusion, permit me to add that, if the Catholic 
Church in this country is not accomplishing all that her 



330 ELEVENTH (SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

critics require, let them give her for five years the vast 
state resources contributed to the public schools ; and 
let the Protestant denominations support the public 
schools by private contributions, as the Catholics are 
now maintaining the parochial schools ; and we shall 
demonstrate to them the efficiency of Catholic educa- 
tion. We shall also see what they can do with their 
private charity for education. Give the Catholic 
Church all the funds now expended on the public school 
system in the United States, and she will prove the 
efficacy of her teaching power and her influence in 
healing the spiritual and mental deafness and dumbness 
of society. 



SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER 
PENTECOST. 



Is it law fid to heal on the Sabbath day? (St. Luke 
xiv.— 3.) 

The Healing Influence of the Sacrifice 
OF THE Mass. 

My Dear Brethren : Our Divine Lord, on the occa- 
sion mentioned in the Gospel for this Sunday, asks the 
lawyers and Pharisees : "A it lazvfidto heal on the Sab- 
bath day ? " They did not reply to His question ; they 
were silent. But Jesus took the sick man who was 
before Him and healed him and sent him away. Our 
Saviour, by this miracle, teaches us that there is no day 
too sacred for the performance of charity or for the 
expression of sympathy. To soothe affliction and allay 
suffering are noble deeds on any day. Jesus pitied the 
man sick of the dropsy ; and by His divine power 
banished disease and imparted joy. We should learn 
a lesson from this Gospel. We should, as far as we can, 
encourage the infirm, mitigate woe, and sympathize with 
affliction. 

You understand that the Sabbath day of the Jews is 
not the Sabbath dayof the Christian. They observed 
the seventh day of the week, we keep holy the first day. 
It is needless to recall to your minds, that the Church in 
the earliest days of Christianity made this transfer spec- 
ially on account of two events of vast and sacred impor- 

331 



332 SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFl'EK PENTECOST. 

lance. These events were : the Resurrection of Jesus 
from the dead on Sunday, and the Descent on Sunday 
of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles. To commemorate 
these great blessings, and to acknowledge the benefi- 
cence of Almighty God, the Church sanctified Sunday, 
and commanded that forever more all Catholics must 
keep it holy. Yet, though the Sabbath day is Sun- 
day now, God still heals on the Sabbath — on Sunday ; 
and especially does He do this during the Sacrifice of 
the Mass. 

Since the first celebration of this August Sacrifice 
until the present day, how many a person has been 
healed by the divine efficacy of the Mass ! How many 
a saint has with heavenly rapture knelt at the Consecra- 
tion of the Mass, and poured out the noblest emotions of 
his soul in thanksgiving ! How his soul went out to 
his Saviour, and with holiest fervor contemplated the 
beauty and the grandeur and the holiness of this great 
Sacrifice ! His soul was healed by his Saviour, his cour- 
age and fortitude were renewed, his sanctity increased, 
his faith strengthened, his hope confirmed, and his 
charity inflamed. And in regard to the sinner, what 
solace he received as he bowed his sin-stained soul 
before Jesus on His altar ! He pleaded for mercy ; his 
supplication was heard ; and who can tell of the peace 
that came at the cry of his prayer? His Saviour has 
pity upon him, speaks to his heart, and heals him on the 
Sabbath day. Like the poor publican, the sinner, 
crushed in his weakness, kneels afar off and implores 
mercy. He who died for sinners, He who healed the 
breaking heart of Magdalen, speaks words of com- 
fort to the sorrowing soul ; and the sinner departs from 
the house of God with a joyful, grateful heart. Yes, 
how many a saint and sinner have been healed on the 



SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 333 

Sabbath day by the efficacy of the Divine Sacrifice of 
the Mass 1 

But there are some Catholics who do not desire to 
be healed. They would rather remain in their infirmi- 
ties. They prefer disease to health. You are aston- 
ished at these remarks, and inquire : " Where is the 
Catholic who does not desire health ? Where is the 
Catholic suffering from consumption, or fever, or 
cancer, or any chronic or acute disease, who does not 
wish for health?" My dear brethren, there are other 
maladies more loathsome and dangerous than consump- 
tion, or cancer, or fever. There are other maladies 
incomparably more ruinous. There are the moral and 
spiritual maladies ; and they are interwoven with the 
physical. You cannot separate them from the physi- 
cal except in their effects. Consumption destroys the 
body, but the soul soars above the ravages of this 
disease and is not contaminated by it ! The soul out- 
lives the blow of physical death, and rises above the 
dismal environments of the grave ; but spiritual disease 
destroys the body and condemns the soul, this noble 
work of God, to endless perdition ! Now, to be more 
plain, let me ask : is not drunkenness a disease ? Is not 
malicious slander a disease ? Is not excessive love for 
money a disease ? Is not carnal, sinful lust a disease ? 
And is there not many another disease of this kind ? 
These spiritual maladies are often healed during the 
Sacrifice of the Mass, when Jesus again speaks with sin- 
ners. Yea, this Adorable Sacrifice prevents such disease; 
for where is the person who from childhood has at- 
tended Mass with regularity and devotion and is infested 
with these corroding disorders ? He cannot be thus 
defiled. He speaks too often with Jesus during these 
solemn moments ; and Jesus too often communicates 



334 SIXTEENTH SUNDAY ATTEE PENTECOST. 

His purifying, stabilitating grace, to permit these viru- 
lent distempers to defile his soul. No ; such a person 
is protected b}^ the shield of divine grace and his own 
piety. 

It must be quite clear to you that spiritual maladies 
are more destructive than physical diseases ; still, let us 
take a few illustrations in order to convey better to 
your minds the truths which I am endeavoring to ex- 
plain. A mother dies of consumption. Her family is 
left helpless. Her husband and children bemoan their 
great loss. Tears tell of their affliction. But still their 
mother was a devout Catholic. They speak of her with 
the greatest love. They pride themselves in having 
such a mother. They honor her memory, and all the 
neighbors speak of her in kindest terms. Suppose, 
however, another mother who slanders, vilifies, and de- 
fames everyone who provokes her malice. She gads 
from house to house with the latest scandalous news. 
Her motive is not innocent gossip, but malicious injury. 
Enmity prompts her tongue, and hatred is searching 
for revenge. Her children are running wild, her home 
is in disorder, and herself is in filth. She is known 
everywhere in the parish as a dangerous person. Now, 
is not her disease worse than consumption ? Who 
has a kind word for her ? To be sure, some who want 
news will treat her very socially ; but for me, I would 
give her as much welcome as I would the devil. No 
respectable person wants anything to do with her. 
Some dread her, and her own children are ashamed of 
her. Is not her malady more loathsome than con- 
sumption ? She is a pestilence in herself, she con- 
taminates others, and stirs up the fires of hate. When 
she dies, who will lament her loss ? What tears will 
be shed at her funeral ? Many will rejoice that she is 



SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 335 

gone ; and her children will never mention her name. 
Is not, therefore, consumption a mild disease, com- 
pared to slander ? The consumptive may leave a hal- 
lowed memory ; the memory of the other is hideous 
and detestable. Consumption does not yield to human 
remedies ; but the other can be cured, and the remedy 
is found by devoutly hearing Mass. 

Here is another example. The father is a drunkard. 
He has squandered his substance until he is a beggar. 
In every saloon he is cuffed and kicked and often thrown 
out into the gutter. His clothes are in tatters, his face 
disfigured, and he is an abject, debased object of pity. 
He is diseased — body and soul are diseased ! He was 
created to the image of God ; but he has blighted the 
great powers of his soul and blasted all his noble pros- 
pects ! Drunkenness is a fell malady. It impoverishes 
the greatest talent and prostrates the noblest genius ! 
It is a devastating disease ! Had this man never been 
a drunkard, and had he died of fever, how different 
would be his life and how edifying his death ! A drunk- 
ard's grave would not contain his ashes, and his chil- 
dren and his friends would not bury his memory with his 
dust. Many may sympathize with him. His children 
may weep and pray for him, but they do not speak his 
name except in private. What are the ravages of fever 
to the debasement and destructiveness of inebriety ? 
They are not comparable. Yet this devouring malady 
may be healed by Jesus during the Sacrifice of the Mass. 
If the drunkard attend Mass regularly and devoutly, he 
cannot but rise. During this sacrifice of Christ's love, 
let the drunkard appeal for mercy, and Jesus, Who 
never abandoned a contrite heart, will lift him up and 
heal him. Resolutions will be formed, and Jesus will 
fortify these resolutions with His all-healing grace ; 



336 SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

and the drunkard will again walk the ways of honesty, 
sobriety, and true Catholic devotion ! 

Now we shall take an example of a young man. He 
is wasting away on a bed of sickness, — cancer is con- 
suming him. This loathsome disease is sapping away 
his strength. He is an object of compassion ; still, how 
much happier is he when his disease is contrasted with 
the malady which consigns another young man to State's 
Prison. Theft is the disorder which makes him danger- 
ous to his fellow man. His disease must be cured, if 
possible, by confinement and hard labor ; but what is 
the cure compared to the suffering of his friends. A 
prison cell is bad enough, yet he suffers little of the 
odium attached to such maladies. His friends are the 
victims of his disease. They are disgraced, ruined, 
and ostracized ! His aged fatherand mother pine away 
in grief ! His brothers and sisters dare not speak 
his name. He has shamed them into silence, and has 
given their enemies power to insult and injure them. 
How^ incomparably better off is the young man dying 
of cancer. His disease is repulsive ; still his brothers 
and sisters and parents pity him, and pray for him, and 
study to calm his anguish. The priest often calls to 
console him, and whispers words of cheer. He receives 
the sacraments often. Jesus lives in his soul. Although 
his malady is disgusting, he is still the temple of the 
Holy Ghost and the shrine of Jesus, his Saviour. He 
dies ; and angels bear his pure soul beyond its frail 
home of dust and pain. He is happy with his God, 
while the other young man is barred by a prison. 
Contrast these two cases, and tell me which of these 
diseases is the more deplorable ? The thief, never- 
theless, has doomed himself and his friends to spend 
their days and nights in misery. Had he attended 



SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 337 

Mass from his childhood, had he communed with his 
Saviour during these moments of richest grace, he 
would not now be occupying a prisoner's crib. 

You will pardon me for introducing one more illustra- 
tion, I would turn away in sorrow from any contem- 
plation of this mournful example were it not necessary 
to mention it to you. The example to which I refer 
applies to a daughter — a daughter living amidst the 
haunts of lewdness, wasting her life in sin, banishing 
from her soul every vestige of grace, damning herself 
and ensnaring others ! What physical malady is 
equal to this most deplorab4e of spiritual diseases ? 
There is none. A physical illness, be it ever so painful, 
leaves the soul pure and noble. No physical disorder, 
unless the offspring of sin, can mar this wonderful work 
of God. But lewdness destroys soul and body ; nor 
does its virus cease with the destruction of its victim ; it 
extends to every friend who wished her well and who 
mourns her decay. She is ostracized from society; or, 
if she has any society at all, it is the society of fiends. 
Her truest friend, her mother or her father, is as much 
startled at the sound of her name as they would be at 
an apparition from hell. Brothers and sisters and 
parents and friends are disgraced, wronged, and hu- 
miliated. Is there any physical disease, I ask again, 
equal to this corrupting, debasing, fiendish malady ? 
There is no comparison, you will admit. It is a pity — 
pity for the daughter who barters her soul and body, 
too, for lust — pity for the parents who suffer the pangs 
of disgrace — pity for the brothers and sisters who weep 
over her fall. Had she died of consumption, pining 
away under its devouring fever, all would sympa- 
thize with her, all w^ould pray for her — even her enemy 
w^ould drop a tear of grief and reconciliation upon her 



338 SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 

grave. But now, who could attend her funeral ? Her 
nearest and dearest friends wish her dead and forgotten. 
You realize, my brethren, that there are other diseases 
besides those which directly attack the body. The man 
to whom the Gospel of to-day calls attention, was sick 
of the dropsy. Jesus healed him. He rejoiced at the 
return of health. It was a happy Sabbath day for him. 
Jesus cured him, and Jesus cures and will cure those 
spiritual deseases which no human physician can reach. 
He still heals on the Sabbath day, if we only have the 
proper dispositions. He heals during the peaceful, 
happy, contemplative moments of the Mass. Angels 
adore around the chalice and the tabernacle ; and 
Jesus, as humble, as kind, as gentle, as pitying as He ever 
was in the arms of His Mother, speaks to our souls. 
Yea, He entreats us to speak to Him, not to be distant 
or afraid, but to seek for the blessings of heaven and 
earth. Once more He says to us : ^' Ask and you 
shall receive. Hitherto you have not asked. Ask, 
that your joys may be full ^ Sweet joys He imparts 
during those precious moments ; the joy of peace, of 
contentment, of rapture, of noble resolution, and the 
sweetest joy, the joy of His friendship ! Do you think 
that any Catholic living under such influence can con- 
tract these awful spiritual diseases which we have been 
considering ? I know not to what conclusion you have 
arrived ; but for me, I am convinced that no child 
reared in the bosom of the Catholic Church, schooled b)' 
the divine lessons of the altar, sanctified by the fellow- 
ship of Jesus, can ever be infected with any defiling 
malady. Where such disorders exist, there are some 
defects in devotion, in regularity, and in love for this 
most beautiful and sublime and invigorating sacrifice! 
This sacrifice has drawn to Catholic churches saints and 



SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. 339 

sinners ; this sacrifice has banished woe and instilled 
solace ; this sacrifice has perpetuated innocence in the 
hearts of the young, has confirmed it in the souls of 
the tempted, stabilitated it in the feebleness of old age ; 
this sacrifice is the centre of Catholic unity, the object 
of all devotion, the consolation of the Church, and the 
great divine magnet which has drawn millions into 
the Church of Christendom ! Here Jesus again heals 
on the Sabbath day ; heals the soul and the body, too, 
accordingly as it comports with our temporal and spir- 
itual welfare. Let us this morning thank Him for all 
His mercies ; let us be grateful to Him for His loving 
condescension towards us ; let us ask Him to teach us 
to love Him more and more ; but let us pray that we 
may not be taught by the malice of our enemies, or the 
harshness of adversity, but by His gentle, persuasive, 
health-giving blessings on the Sabbath day, 



NOW RRADY ! 



Sermons 



FOR. 

EVERY SUNDAY 

IN THE YKAR. 

BY 



Rcp. B. 3. Raycroft, H. m. 



SECOND REVISED EDITION. 



12mo., 351 pp., cloth, net, $|,50. 



Letter of the Rt. Rev. Bishop of Erie. 

Erie, Pa. 

I sincerely congratulate you on the successful 

completion of a work that must have cost you both labor 
and anxiety. I am very well pleased with the portion that 
I had time to read, and trust that the work will prove val- 
uable to both priests and people. 

I JOHI^ E. FlTZMAURICE, 

Bishop of Erie. 



Press Notice. 

Father Raycroft modestly disclaims any literary merit 
for his book, but hopes that his words may suggest deeper 
veins of thought. Be that as it may, he tells some strong 
truths strongly and deals with some plain facts plainly. 
There is no mincing matters, with Father Raycroft ; he 
deals a heavy blow straight at the gangrenous pillars of 
society, which are already tottering, and his words bear the 
weight of truth, ^\e need just such practical, straight- 
forward sermons as Father Raycroft has given us, and it is 
to be hoped that " Sermons for Every Sunday in the Year '' 
will be as universally read as they deserve to be. 

— Catholic Union and Times, 



NOTICES OF 

These sermons are solid, 
good, i n s t r 11 c t i V e — and 
short. The three first qual- 
ities make them valuable, 
but the last, their shortness, 
makes them particularly 
valuable to the busy mis- 
sionary priest, who, by 
reason of his many urgent 
duties, has too little time to 
prepare his weekly dis- 
course. What he needs 
under such circumstances is 
the matter, the line of 
thought, the argument, the 
illustrations appropriate to 
the Gospel of the occasion, 
summed up in short, clear, 
compact form so that he can 
fix them in his mind in a 
short time by a careful per- 
usal, and give them to his 
people, not parrot-like, but 
in his own natural style and 
clothed in the atmosphere 
of his own personality. 
Such is the kind of sermon- 
book the over- worked priest 
wants, and just such a 
sermon-book is this of 
Father Eaycroft. He has 
carefully chosen the matter, 
given the direction of 
thought naturally suggested 
by the Gospel and supplied 
the illustrations. And all 



THE PRESS : 

this is done in concise, clear, 

plain language, without any 

attempt at gingerbread 

ornamentation. 

— ^- y. Freeman's Journal. 

The chief reason which 
warrants the publication of 
these sermons is that they 
take fresh points of view 
upon the old outlooks with 
which we are all familiar. 
They may honestly be rec- 
ommended to a place in 
every priest's library and to 
the perusal of every Catholic 
family. — Catholic News. 

These sermons have two 
qualities which recommend 
them : they are simple and 
they are solid. 

— Donahoe's Magazine. 

Father Ray croft's 

Sermons are short and prac- 
tical, and full of suggestive 
material.-^;?z^r. Eccles. Rev. 

The style is easy, free 

and pleasing. The thought 
is high and cogent, giving 
much food for meditation 
and reflection. The work 
is well adapted to accom- 
plish its purpose and to meet 
the needs of our times. 

— The Laurel. 



FR. PU5TET ®. COMPANY, 

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